PROCEEDINGS 

OF  THE 

ACADEMY  OF   POLITICAL   SCIENCE 

IN  THE  CITY  OF  NEW  YORK 


Volume  II]  JULY,  1912  [Number  4 

ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK 


PUBLISHED    QUARTERLY    BY 
THE   ACADEMY   OF   POLITICAL   SCIENCE 

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PROCEEDINGS 
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PROCEEDINGS 

OF  THE 

ACADEMY    OF    POLITICAL   SCIENCE 

IN  THE  CITY  OF  NEW  YORK 


Volume  II]  JULY,  1912  [Number  4 


ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK 


The  Academy  of  Political  Science 

Columbia  University,  New  York 

1912 


^^5 


Copyright  by 
The  Academy  of  Political  Science 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

I     SOCIAL  SURVEYS 

The  Spread  of  the  Survey  Idea       .        .        .        .         i 

Paul  U.  Kellogg 
A  Social  Survey  of  a  Typical  American  City        .       i8 

Shelby  M.  Harrison 
A  Sanitary  and  Health  Survey       .        .        .        .32 

George  T.  Palmer 
The  Relation  of   a    Neighborhood   Survey    to 
Social  Needs 51 

Miss  Pauline  Goldmark 
Statistical  Methods  in  Survey  Work    .        .        .56 

Robert  Emmet  C haddock 
The  Scope  and  Value  of  the  Local  Surveys  of 
the  Men  and  Religion  Movement        ...      63 

Orrin  G.  Cocks 

II     NATIONAL  SOCIAL  NEEDS 

A  Federal  Commission  on  Industrial  Relations — 
Why  it  is  Needed 71 

John  Bates  Clark 
Labor  Legislation  a  National  Social  Need  .        .       75 

Henry  Rogers  Seager 
Next  Steps  in  the  Child-Labor  Campaign      .        .      80 

Owen  R.  Lovejoy 
Budgetary  Provision  for  Social  Needs  .        .       86 

William  H.  Allen 
An  Interpretation  of  Vocational  Guidance.        .      92 

Miss  Alice  P.  Barrows 
Labor  of  Women  and  Children  in  Tenements        .     114 

Mrs.  Florence  Kelley 
Two  National  Social  Needs 116 

Washington  Gladden 
Recreation  and  Youth     .        .        .        .        .        .118 

Luther  H.  Gulick 
Regulation  of  Public  Amusements  .        .        .        .123 

Mrs.  Belle  Lindner  Israels 
Commercialized  Vice 127 

George  J.  Kneeland 
The  Problem  of  Wayward  Girls  and  Women  De- 
linquents         130 

Miss  Maude  E.  Miner 

iii 

253740 


iv  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

The  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Children       .        .139 

C.  C.  Cars  tens 
The  Institutional  Care  of  Children      .        .        .146 

Hastings  H.  Hart 
The  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Animals.        .        .150 

W.  O.  Stillman 
Prison  Labor .159 

E.  Stagg  Whitin 
The    Extension  of  Organized    Charity  in    the 
United  States 164 

Francis  H.  McLean 
The  Social  Program  of  the  Federal  Council  of 
the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America    .        .        .174 

Charles  S,  Macfarland 

III     GREATER  NEW  YORK'S  SOCIAL  NEEDS 

City-Planning  in  New  York  City     .         .        .        .180 

George  B.  Ford 
Housing  Needs 188 

Lawrence  Veiller 
The  Protection  of  Factory  Workers     .        .        .191 

George  M.  Price 
The  Education  of  Mothers  and  the  Saving  of 
Babies 195 

Philip  Van  Ingen 
The  Protection  and  Distribution  of  Immigrants  .     199 

Kate  Holladay  Claghorn  ^ 

Charitable  Relief 'xSjb/ 

W.  Frank  Persons  '' 

Social  Work  of  the  New  York  Schools        .        .     211 

John  Martin 

Cooperation  of  the  Churches  in  Housing  Reform.     215 
James  Jenkins,  Jr. 

IV     RELIGIOUS  ORGANIZATIONS  AND 
SOCIAL  WORK 
Addresses  at  the  Dinner  of  the  Academy  of 
Political  Science 

Monsignor  Joseph  F.  Mooney  .217  I  Dr.  Wilfred  T.  Grenfell  .  .  ii'}, 
Rt.  Rev.  E.  R.  Hendrix  .  .  .219  Professor  E.  T.  Devine.  .  .  226 
Rabbi  E.  G.  Hirsch 220    I     Mr.  John  R.  Mott .    ....  228 

Proceedings  of  Spring  Meeting       .        .        .        .234 


THE  SPREAD  OF  THE  SURVEY  IDEA^ 

PAUL  U.  KELLOGG 
Director  of  the  Pittsburgh  Survey,  1907-09 

IN  most  of  our  social  movements,  we  are  under  the  necessity 
of  starting  something  going.  ^-We  must  stir  up  interest  as 
the  first  step.^  The  survey  movement,  if  we  can  call  it  that, 
does  not  seem  to  be  handicapped  in  this  way.  ggThere  is  more 
spontaneous  outcropping  of  the  survey  idea  the  country  round 
than  as  yet  we  have  any  sufficient  organization  or  body  of  trained 
workers  to  deal  with.ii^lose  on  the  heels  of  Pittsburgh  came 
Buffalo. <^The  pioneer  work  in  the  steel  district  was  instigated 
by  Charities  Publication  Committee  and  was  carried  out  in 
cooperation  with  militant  Pittsburghers,  under  grants  from  the 
Russell  Sage  Foundation. 'V The  study  of  the  Polish  section  of 
Buffalo  was  the  first  undertaking  of  the  sort  instigated  and 
financed  by  the  city  surveyed."  Then  we  had  that  interesting 
state-wide  tour  of  Kentucky  by  Mrs.  Caroline  Bartlett  Crane, 
which  was  a  quick  sizing  up  of  conditions  in  a  group  of  smaller 
cities  under  the  State  Board  of  Health  and  the  State  Federation 
of  Women's  Clubs.  We  know  of  the  series  of  community 
studies  carried  out  by  Mr.  Aronovici  in  Rhode  Island,  and  by  Mr. 
St.  John  and  Mr.  Stelzle  in  Newark,  Sag  Harbor  and  elsewhere ; 
the  studies  of  the  Huntington  Presbytery  in  seven  counties  in 
central  Pennsylvania;  the  work  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  in 
its  rural  surveys  in  Illinois,  Missouri  and  Pennsylvania;  and 
the  scores  of  neighborhoods,  mill  and  mining  towns  which  the 
Federal  Immigration  Commission  caught  up  in  their  schedules. 
Last  summer  the  Associated  Charities  of  Syracuse,  the  Chamber 
of  Commerce,  the  Central  Trades  Assembly  and  the  Ministerial 
Association  joined  forces  in  the  stock-taking  of  a  single  city 
which  is  described  (p.  8)  by  Mr.  Harrison;  while  the  findings 
of  the  Lowell  survey  are  just  out  in  book  form.^  Booth's  Lon- 
don y  Rowntree's  York,  the  Hull-House  Books  and  Papers,  the 

'Read  at  the  meeting  of  the  Academy  of  Political  Science,  April  18,  1912 

(475) 


2  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK  [Vol.  II 

South  End  House  Studies,  Mr.  Kirk's  Providence,  Dr.  Roberts' 
Anthracite  Coal  Communities,  the  Washington  number  of  Chari- 
ties and  The  Commons  are  instances,  all  of  them,  of  social  in- 
vestigations which  have  embodied  many  of  the  elements  we  find 
in  the  survey  idea,  but  which  are  not  identified  with  the  more  or 
less  crystallizes  movement  which  to-day  engages  our  attention. 
For  I  have  4)ef ore  me  four  closely  typewritten  sheets,  thor- 
oughly covered  with  the  names  of  cities  and  organizations  which 
are  either  embarked  on  surveys  or  are  considering  surveys,  or 
would  like  to  know  more  about  them.  *<rhe  names  of  Minne- 
sota, Missouri,  Texas  and  Kansas  towns  show  the  spread  of  the 
idea  no  less  than  those  of  the  four  chief  cities  of  the  British 
Northwest.     One  inquiry  comes  from  India.  O 

Just  at  this  juncture,  the  more  immediate  aspect  of  the  move- 
ment presents  itself  in  the  fact  that  in  nearly  every  city  in  which 
the  Men  and  Religion  Forward  teams  have  set  forth  a  social 
program,  one  of  the  planks  in  that  program  has  been  to  recom- 
mend a  social  survey.     So  we   are   faced  with  the  question : 

■"What  is  a  survey,  and  how  shall  the  residents  of  the  average 
city  go  about  one,  with  some  prospect  that  they  will  be  doing  a 
craftsman's  job  of  it?  We  know  in  a  general  way  that  a  survey 
is  something  different  from  the  ordinary  operations  of  a  mu- 
nicipal league  or  a  charitable  society  or  a  settlement — different 
even  from  their  campaigns  for  special  reforms.  We  know  also 
that  it  is  different  from  newspaper  work,  or  a  civic  exhibit,  or 
an  official  report  or  scientific  research  as  such ;  although  we 
may  have  an  inkling  that  it  partakes  of  all  of  these  things,  in 
one  way  or  another.  What  then?  What  elements  distinguish 
the  survey?  The  papers  by  Mr.  Harrison,  Miss  Goldmark  and 
Dr.  Palmer  give  concrete  answers  and  give  them  with  a  preci- 
sion and  taking  quality  which  can  scarcely  be  bettered  by  any 
generalizations.  They  tell,  however,  of  three  fairly  well-defined 
types  of  survey ;  and  it  will  help  in  arriving  at  a  working  con- 
ception of  the  survey  idea,  to  run  over  some  of  the  elements 
common  to  all. 

*•  And   first,  for  purposes  of  comparison,  let  me  set  down  the 

elements,  five   in  number,  which  we  felt  at  the  close  of  the 

Pittsburgh  Survey  made  that  a  distinctive  enterprise.     These 

methods  were : 

(476) 


No.  4]  THE  SPREAD  OF  THE  SURVEY  IDEA  3 

1.  To  bring  a  group  of  experts  together  to  cooperate  with 
local  leaders  in  gauging  the  social  needs  of  one  city. 

2.  To  study  these  needs  in  relation  to  each  other,  to  the 
whole  area  of  the  city,  and  to  the  civic  responsibilities  of  de- 
mocracy. 

3.  To  consider  at  the  same  time  both  civic  acd  industrial 
conditions,  and  to  consider  them  for  the  most  part  in  their 
bearings  upon  the  wage-earnmg  population. 

4.  To  reduce  conditions  to  terms  of  household  experience 
and  human  life. 

5.  To  devise  graphic  methods  for  making  these  findings 
challenging,  clear  and  unmistakable,   o 

If  I  were  recasting  this  formula  to-day,  I  do  not  know  that 
I  should  want  to  change  it  materially.  But  it  will  perhaps  give 
a  better  approach  to  the  survey  movement  to  consider  not  what 
sets  it  off  from  other  undertakings,  but  what  it  draws  upon 
them  for. 

First  of  all,  the  survey  takes  its  unit  of  work  from  the  sur- 
veyor. It  has  to  do  with  a  subject  matter,  to  be  sure,  but  that 
subject  matter  is  subordinated  to  the  idea  of  a  definite  geo- 
graphical area.  It  is  quite  possible  to  carry  on  a  study  of 
tuberculosis,  for  example,  as  a  piece  of  physiological  research, 
or  as  a  piece  of  sociological  research,  wholly  apart  from  where 
it  occurs.  But  just  as  a  geological  survey  is  not  geology  in 
general,  but  the  geology  of  a  given  mountain  range  or  water 
shed,  so,  even  when  a  special  subject  matter  is  under  study, 
the  sociological  survey  adds  an  element  of  locality,  of  neighbor- 
hood or  city,  state  or  region,  to  what  would  otherwise  pass 
under  the  general  term  of  an  investigation. 

And  when  the  subject  matter  is  not  specialized,  but  concerns 
the  more  intangible  **  needs  "  of  a  community,  the  survey  be- 
comes necessarily  different  things  in  different  localities.  It  can- 
not be  thought  out  at  a  far-away  desk.  It  is  responsive  to  local 
conditions ;  in  a  worn-out  country  district,  suffering  from  what 
Professor  Ross  calls  ''  folk-depletion,"  its  content  has  little  in 
common  with  that  of  a  survey  in  a  textile  center,  tense  with 
human  activity,  and  dominated  by  its  terms  of  work. 

In  the  second  place,  the  survey  takes  from  the  physician  his 
art  of  applying  to  the  problems  at  hand  standards  and  experi- 

(477) 


4  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.11 

ence  worked  out  elsewhere.  To  illustrate,  if  your  pure  scientist 
were  studying  the  housing  situation  in  a  given  town,  he  would 
start  out  perhaps  without  any  hypotheses,  tabulate  every  salient 
fact  as  to  every  house,  cast  up  long  columns  of  figures,  and 
make  careful  deductions,  which  might  and  might  not  be  worth 
the  paper  they  were  written  on.  Your  housing  reformer  and 
your  surveyor  ought  to  know  at  the  start  what  good  ventilation 
is,  and  what  cellar  dwellings  are.  These  things  have  been 
studied  elsewhere,  just  as  the  medical  profession  has  been  study- 
ing hearts  and  lungs  until  they  know  the  signals  which  tell 
whether  a  man's  organs  are  working  right  or  not,  and  what 
to  look  for  in  making  a  diagnosis. 

«M»In  the  third  place,  the  survey  takes  from  the  engineer  his 
working  conception  of  the  structural  relation  of  things.  There 
is  a  building  element  in  surveys.*^  When  we  look  at  a  house,  we 
know  that  carpenters  have  had  a  good  deal  to  do  with  it,  and 
it  is  possible  to  investigate  just  what  the  carpenters  have  done ; 
also  the  bricklayers,  the  steam-fitters  and  the  rest  of  the  build- 
ing trades.  But  your  engineer,  like  your  general  contractor 
and  architect,  has  to  do  with  the  work  of  each  of  these  crafts  in 
its  relation  to  the  work  of  every  other.  So  it  is  with  a  survey, 
whether  it  deals  with  the  major  elements  entering  into  a  given 
community  which  has  structural  parts  of » a  given  master 
problem  such  as  Dr.  Palmer  describes  in  his  survey  of  the  sani- 
tary conditions  in  Springfield.  Only  recently  I  received  a  letter 
from  a  man  engaged  in  making  a  general  social  survey  of  a 
manufacturing  town — a  so-called  survey.  He  did  not  think  that 
it  was  truly  a  survey,  nor  did  I,  because  out  of  the  scope  of 
that  investigation  had  been  left  all  of  the  labor  conditions  in  the 
mills.  The  local  committee  had  been  fearful  of  raising  opposi- 
tion in  forceful  quarters.  Yet  these  labor  conditions  were  basic 
in  the  town's  life ;  on  them,  for  better  or  worse,  hung  much  of 
the  community  welfare;  and  by  ignoring  them,  the  committee 
could  deal  with  partial  solutions  only.  It  was  as  if  a  diagnos- 
tician in  making  his  examination  had  left  a  patient's  stomach 
out  of  consideration  because  the  patient  was  a  dyspeptic  and 
irritable.  They  had  violated  the  structural  integrity  of  their 
survey. 

(478) 


No.  4]  THE  SPREAD  OF  THE  SURVEY  IDEA  5 

^  In  the  fourth  place,  the  survey  takes  from  the  charity-organi- 
zation movement  its  case-work  method  of  bringing  problems 
down  to  human  terms. ^  Death  rates  exemplify  human  units  in 
their  barest  essentials ;  but  I  have  in  mind  a  more  developed 
unit.  Let  me  illustrate  from  the  Pittsburgh  Survey  in  the  pains- 
taking figures  we  gathered  of  the  household  cost  of  sickness — 
lost  wages,  doctor's  bills,  medicines,  ice,  hospitals,  funerals,  the 
aftermath  of  an  epidemic  in  lowered  vitality  and  lowered  earn- 
ings, household  by  household — not  in  sweeping  generalizations 
but  in  what  Mr,  Woods  called  **  piled-up  actualities."  If  I  were 
to  set  one  touchstone,  more  than  another,  to  differentiate  the 
true  survey  from  social  prospecting,  it  would  be  this  case-work 
method.  In  employing  it  the  surveyor,  because  of  lack  of 
means  and  time,  must  often  deal  with  samples  rather  than  with 
the  whole  population  coming  within  the  scope  of  his  study. 
These  samples  may  be  groups  of  school  children ;  or  the  people 
who  die  in  a  certain  year ;  or  those  who  live  in  a  certain  ward. 
The  method  is  one,  of  course,  which  is  scientifically  justifiable 
only  so  long  as  those  who  employ  it  can  defend  their  choice  of 
the  sample  chosen,  and  show  where  it  does  and  does  not  repre- 
sent the  entire  group.  ^ 

*^  Under  this  head  it  is  to  be  noted  that  the  survey  is  in  a  field 
friendly  to  what  we  have  come  to  call  municipal  research?  The 
latter  is  indebted  for  its  methods  of  unit-costs  and  efficiency  to 
the  accountants.  •^These  methods  may  be  applied  to  city  bud- 
gets and  city  departments  as  an  integral  part  of  a  social  sur- 
vey, the  distinction  between  the  two  movements  in  practise 
being  perhaps  that  the  one  is  focused  primarily  on  governmental 
operations ;  the  other  on  phenomena  imbedded  in  the  common 
life  of  the  people.  Zi 

^^  In  the  fifth  place,  the  survey  takes  from  the  journalist  the 
idea  of  graphic  portrayal,  which  begins  with  such  familiar  tools 
of  the  surveyor  as  maps  and  charts  and  diagrams,  and  reaches 
far  through  a  scale  in  which  photographs  and  enlargements, 
drawings,  casts  and  three-dimension  exhibits  exploit  all  that  the 
psychologists  have  to  tell  us  of  the  advantages  which  the  eye 
holds  over  the  ear  as  a  means  for  communication.  ^  With  these 
the  survey  links  a  sturdy  effort  to  make  its  findings  have  less  in 

(479) 


6  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK  [Vol.11 

common  with  the  boredom  of  official  reports  than  with  the 
more  engaging  qualities  of  newspaper  ''copy"  —  especially 
that  simplicity  of  structure,  tangible  framework,  and  readability 
which  American  magazine  men  have  developed  as  their  tech- 
nique in  writing  for  a  democracy.  This  is  not  a  counsel,  bear 
in  mind,  of  flimsy  sensationalism ;  although  those  who  have 
matters  to  conceal  seek  to  confuse  the  two.  A  startling  article 
patched  up  from  a  few  glints  of  fact  is  a  very  different  proposi- 
tion from  a  crystal  set  in  a  matrix  of  tested  information. 

Underlying  this  factor  of  graphic  portrayal  is  the  factor  of 
truth ;  truth  plus  publicity.  It  is  often  possible  to  work  out 
large  and  definite  reforms  internally,  by  getting  a  group  of 
forceful  men  around  a  table  and  convincing  them  that  so  and 
so  is  the  right  thing  to  do.  This  is,  I  take  it,  a  legitimate 
method  of  philanthropic  work  and  of  social  reform.  But  it  is 
not  the  method  of  a  survey.  The  survey's  method  is  one  of 
publicity ;  it  is  another  and  separate  implement  for  social  ad- 
vance, and  its  usefulness  should  not  be  negatived  by  a  failure 
to  hold  to  its  distinctive  function.  The  philosophy  of  the  survey 
is  to  set  forth  before  the  community  all  the  facts  that  bear  on 
a  problem,  and  to  rely  upon  the  common  understanding,  the 
common  forethought,  the  common  purpose  of  all  the  people  as 
the  first  great  resource  to  be  drawn  upon  in  working  that  prob- 
lem out.  Thus  conceived,  the  survey  becomes  a  distinctive 
and  powerful  implement  of  democracy. 

With  these  five  working  principles  in  mind,  how  can  the  sur- 
vey idea  be  applied  to  the  average  community,  how  and  on 
what  scale  should  its  working  scheme  be  launched  ?  Here  there 
is  already  some  experience  upon  which  to  draw.  At  one  ex- 
treme we  have  a  superficial  skimming  of  facts — what  we  call  in 
the  Middle  West  a  lick-and-a-promise.  Perhaps  it  is  Hmited  to 
passing  round  and  filling  out  schedules  devised  to  fit  any  city — 
such  as  were  used  in  many  places  in  advance  of  the  Men  and 
Religion  campaign  week.  These  were  not  without  value  in 
throwing  some  facts  of  community  life  into  relief  and  in  show- 
ing where  released  energies  might  at  once  be  applied ;  but 
the  team  leaders  very  properly  did  not  call  them  surveys,  mak- 
ing them  rather  a  basis  for  recommending  the   larger  work. 

(480) 


No.  4]  THE  SPREAD  OF  THE  SURVEY  IDEA  7 

They  bear  about  the  same  relation  to  a  survey  that  the  blanks 
which  a  mail-order  tailoring  establishment  sends  out  for  self- 
measurement  bear  to  a  thorough-going  physical  examination. 

At  the  other  end  of  the  scale  we  have  the  sort  of  a  survey 
which  the  Pittsburg  Survey,  if  we  regard  it  as  an  experiment, 
demonstrated  can  with  staff  and  resources  some  day  be  made  in 
one  of  our  first-class  cities.  The  Pittsburgh  Survey  made  a 
quick  diagnosis  of  perhaps  twenty  phases  of  life  and  labor  in 
the  steel  district  on  the  basis  of  standards  worked  out  else- 
where ;  it  brought  these  diagnoses  together  and  studied  some- 
thing of  the  structural  relation  of  the  problems  set  forth ;  but  it 
sank  shafts  of  definite,  consistent,  active  investigation  in  but  five 
or  six  fields  and  even  there  rigorous  limitations  had  to  be  set 
to  the  scope  of  the  work.  For  example,  we  studied,  case  by 
case,  500  families  to  see  how  they  actually  made  shift  when  the 
bread-winner  was  killed  at  his  day's  work.  The  super-survey 
would  not  only  gauge  the  chief  factors  entering  into  a  com- 
munity, gauge  also  their  fabrication  into  its  general  working 
scheme ;  but  would  study  the  human  bearings  of  every  factor, 
as  searchingly  as  we  studied  the  economic  reaction  of  these 
industrial  accidents. 

Not  a  few  of  the  elements  in  such  a  survey  will  ultimately  be 
carried  out  as  part  of  the  routine  work  of  our  governmental,  in- 
stitutional and  industrial  organizations.  This  was  illustrated  in 
the  recommendation  made  by  a  stockholders'  committee  at  the 
recent  meeting  of  the  United  States  Steel  Corporation.  The 
work  which  the  Pittsburgh  Survey  put  into  gathering  elementary 
facts  as  to  hours,  wages  and  other  labor  conditions  in  the  Pitts- 
burgh district  exhausted  a  very  considerable  share  of  our  funds 
and  energy.  This  stockholders'  committee  held  that  in  the 
same  way  that  their  corporation  had  taken  the  lead  in  publish- 
ing extensive  reports  on  its  financial  operations  and  output,  it 
should  be  its  policy  in  the  future  to  lay  before  stockholders 
and  public  the  general  facts  as  to  labor  conditions  in  their  mills. 
That,  it  seemed  to  me,  was  well-nigh  revolutionary.  •* Similarly 
many  of  our  city  and  state  departments — health,  labor,  finance 
and  education — are  putting  out  more  and  more  as  part  of  their 
legitimate  routine  the  salient  facts  upon  which  public  opinion 
can  formulate  working  judgments.  • 

(43i) 


8  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK  [Vol.  II 

If  this  were  done  generally,  the  survey,  to  my  mind,  would 
still  be  an  opportune  instrument  for  social  advance; — on  its 
civic  side,  in  enabling  us  to  see  whether  or  not  there  are  great 
gaps  in  the  frontage  with  which  a  community  faces  the  future, 
and  on  its  scientific  side,  in  measuring  the  human  reaction  of 
various  institutions,  agencies  and  measures,  which  are  carried 
forward  in  the  name  of  progress  and  which  should  be  tested 
and  checked  up  from  time  to  time. 

But  what  we  can  discuss  most  profitably  here  is  the  sort  of 
undertaking  which  as  things  stand  to-day  a  community,  ranging 
anywhere  from  ten  thousand  to  half  a  million,  can  take  up, — 
neither  a  skimping  survey  that  does  not  get  beneath  the  sur- 
face, nor  the  comprehensive  interlocking  survey  just  outlined 
which  must  needs  require  a  large  staff  and  resources.  What 
are  we  to  recommend  when  a  group  of  progressive  people  in 
such  a  community  come  forward  and  say  they  want  to  start  a 
survey — a  group  with  only  general  notions  as  to  the  things 
most  seriously  in  need  of  inquiry  in  their  locality,  and  with 
slender  funds  which  may  grow  only  as  the  undertaking  shows  its 
usefulness?     Two  lines  of  action  seem  most  promising. 

The  first  of  these  is  to  recommend  that  they  secure  a  man  of 
all-around  experience  in  social  work  to  come  to  their  com- 
munity for  a  quick  sizing  up  of  things — a  report  which  will 
enable  them  to  see  where  the  land  lies — and  either  base  a 
general  social  survey  upon  this  report,  or  follow  up  intensively 
one  or  more  of  the  principal  '*  leads  "  disclosed. 

The  second  possible  line  of  action  is  to  start  out  with  some 
unit  less  than  the  general  social  problem  of  their  city,  with  the 
idea  that  work  less  spread-out  and  more  exact  will  in  the  long  run 
lead  farther.  There  are  several  ways  in  which  this  can  be  done. 
One  method  is  to  take  a  given  neighborhood,  in  the  way  that 
the  Buffalo  survey  took  its  Polish  district.  This  method  has 
the  advantage  of  focusing  attention  on  a  manageable  area, 
where  definite  results  (like  the  Buffalo  playgrounds  and  evening 
schools  for  immigrants)  can  be  reached  while  the  survey  is  in 
process.  It  has  the  disadvantage  that  it  may  tend  to  confirm 
the  impressions  of  squalor  already  held  by  polite  residents  of  a 
city   as  to   some  particular   neighborhood,  without  forcing  in 

(482) 


No.  4]  THE  SPREAD  OF  THE  SURVEY  IDEA  9 

upon  them  the  fact  that  a  community  is  like  a  human  being 
and  none  of  its  members  can  be  sick  without  being  a  drag  on 
the  whole ;  without  rousing  the-  whole  city  to  action,  or  even, 
as  in  Buffalo,  leading  up  to  a  general  city  survey.  A  modifica- 
tion of  this  method  was  discussed  in  New  Haven — the  sugges- 
tion being  to  take  a  belt  running  through  the  town,  so  as  to  be 
representative  of  good  and  bad  conditions  alike,  the  well-to-do, 
the  middling-to-do,  and  the  poor.  This  plan  has  imaginative 
values,  a  practical  obstacle  perhaps  being  the  difficulty  in  fitting 
existing  sources  of  statistics  to  such  a  philanthropic  gerry- 
mander. Another  method  is  to  take  a  block  and  study  its  peo- 
ple intensively  in  the  matter  of  their  social  needs  and  the  re- 
sources of  the  city  with  respect  to  them,  in  much  the  same  way 
as  (from  the  standpoint  of  racial  composition  and  social  mind) 
Dr.  Jones  and  Prof.  Woolston  have  studied  given  New  York 
city  blocks.  Such  a  method  would  unquestionably  supply  an 
exceptional  group  of  citizens  with  rare  insight  as  to  the  actual 
operations  and  values  of  much  of  our  social  work.  With  this 
insight  they  could  reach  judgments  and  execute  reforms,  but  the 
plan  would  scarcely  usher  in  that  self-consciousness  which  comes 
when  a  whole  community  sees  itself  in  the  large,  and  which,  to 
my  mind,  gives  the  community  survey  its  exceptional  dynamic 
force. 

In  contrast  to  these  methods,  which  consider  fairly  small  areas 
in  their  relation  to  a  wide  range  of  social  needs,  another  partial 
method  is  to  take  some  one  social  problem  and  study  it  in  its 
bearings  on  the  entire  community — such  a  problem  as  recrea- 
tion. -^-This  would  cover  not  only  a  study  of  playgrounds  and 
play  opportunities,  but  an  examination  of  the  city  play  bill 
(nickleodeons,  skating  rinks,  cheap  shows,  dance  halls)  as  was 
made  by  the  Kansas  City  Board  of  Public  Welfare,  to  see  how 
much  fun  was  costing  the  people,  how  they  could  spend  less  and 
get  more,  and  how  far  commercialized  amusements  should  be 
supervised.  It  would  cover  the  larger  uses  of  school  houses, 
substitutes  for  saloons,  the  utilization  of  outdoors,  and  the  nat- 
ural resources  of  wood  and  valley  back  from  a  city ;  the  extent 
of  leisure  and  the  social  effects  of  its  compression  through  over- 
work and  Sunday  labor;  the  money  surplus  for  recreation  in 
household  budgets ;  and  so  on. 

(483) 


10  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.  II 

While  local  conditions,  the  agencies  interested,  the  public 
temper  and  the  money  available  are  considerations  which  must 
be  duly  reckoned  with,  my  feeling  is  that  the  first  line  of 
approach  described  is  the  one  which  will  serve  most  cities  best ; 
— that  is,  the  quick  sizing-up  process  to  see  how  the  land  lies 
and  to  plant  what  the  civil  engineers  call  '*  bench  marks  "  at  points 
of  vantage.  For  this  work  can  be  done  on  a  scale  to  fit  any 
town's  pocket-book,  it  embodies  in  a  rudimentary  way  the  ele- 
ments which  we  have  seen  are  the  essential  methods  of  a  survey, 
and  it  gives  perspective.  The  scientific  farmer  who  has  his 
soils  examined  in  taking  up  new  land,  the  business  man  who  is 
used  to  inventories  as  a  basis  of  planning  for  the  year  ahead, 
the  physician  who  is  called  on  less  frequently  to  doctor  fevers 
and  set  bones  than  to  overhaul  patients  who  are  "  all  run  down," 
will  not  need  to  have  the  value  of  such  a  piece  of  preliminary 
stock-taking  argued  out  with  them.  A  town  with  ten  thousand 
people  can  get  a  man  with  what  you  might  call  a  general  prac- 
titioner's equipment  in  social  work  to  spend  half  a  week  there 
with  fair  prospect  that  his  report  will  be  something  on  which 
they  can  build.  Superficial  though  it  would  frankly  be,  it  should 
bring  the  more  easily  recognizable  needs  and  opportunities  in 
the  town's  life  to  the  test  of  standards  worked  out  elsewhere — 
which,  as  we  have  seen,  is  one  of  the  first  and  easiest  tasks  of  a 
survey.  It  could  scarcely  fail  to  show  how  health  hangs  on 
civic  enterprise  and  in  kindred  ways  make  average  citizens  see 
that  things  which  they  may  have  regarded  as  unrelated  are  bound 
up  in  each  other.  It  would  correspondingly  show  these  things  in 
proportion.  The  sky-scraping  pride  with  which  a  growing  town 
points  to  an  atrocious  six  or  ten-story  block  on  its  chief  corner 
is  not  energy  any  more  misapplied  than  many  a  philanthropic 
enterprise,  bred  to  suit  city  conditions,  which  the  small  town 
swallows  hoofs,  hide  and  all.  Such  a  report  would  gather  up, 
if  rightly  made,  the  progressive  ideas  held  by  local  people  who 
have  seen  farther  ahead  than  their  neighbors ;  and  it  would  have 
the  force — and  that  counts  for  a  good  deal  in  a  growing  com- 
munity— of  being  heralded  as  the  judgment  of  a  '*  city  expert," 
thereby  gaining  a  hearing  for  things  which  local  prophets  may 
have  despaired  of.     Further,  such  a  report,  if  it  sets  a  vision  of 

(484) 


I 


No.  4]  THE  SPREAD  OF  THE  SURVEY  IDEA  1 1 

what  the  town  might  be,  tugs  at  the  imagination  of  the  people 
and  loosens  energies  in  many  directions.  The  same  things  hold 
true  for  a  larger  city — the  city  of  twenty-five  to  fifty  thousand 
which  can  employ  such  a  preliminary  prospector  for  from  a 
fortnight  to  six  weeks ;  or  the  still  larger  city  which  can  engage 
for  this  sizing-up  process  a  man  of  experience  and  all-round 
equipment  with  two  or  three  assistants,  for  a  six  months  com- 
mission. Its  alternative  would  be  to  get  experts  in  half  a  dozen 
of  the  major  fields  of  social  concern  to  come  on  the  ground  for 
say  a  fortnight  each,  relying  upon  a  local  committee  to  synthe- 
size these  special  reports  into  a  general  scheme  of  procedure. 
The  Syracuse  survey  illustrated  these  two  methods  somewhat  in 
combination,  for  Mr.  Harrison  spent  six  weeks  in  his  general 
work,  and  various  national  and  local  bodies  were  successfully 
appealed  to  to  carry  on  the  field  work  along  special  Hnes. 

Such  a  preHminary  report  once  in  hand,  the  community  small 
or  large  is  in  much  more  favorable  position  than  at  the  start  to 
make  constructive  decisions.  It  may  decide  to  carry  on  any  one  of 
the  inquiries  which  I  enumerated  earlier  as  possible  lines  of  action, 
only  with  far  larger  chance  of  their  being  done  intelligently  and 
with  prospect  of  results  for  the  whole  city.  It  may  do  what 
Rochester  is  doing — that  is,  what  might  be  called  a  consecutive 
survey,  organizing  and  calling  on  experts  to  take  up  first  one 
phase  of  social  concern  and  then  another.  This  is  the  sort  of 
work  done  by  the  Pittsburgh  Civic  Commission.  It  may  focus 
its  efforts  on  some  district,  and  there  sink  its  inquiries  into  the 
structure  of  the  common  life.  This  the  Bureau  of  Social  Re- 
search under  Miss  Goldmark  has  done  on  a  district  scale  on  the 
upper  west  side  of  New  York,  scrutinizing  in  a  given  neighbor- 
hood how  courts  and  charitable  agencies,  the  departments  of 
health  and  education  come  in  contact  with  the  life  of  the  peo- 
ple— how  they  may  be  turned  from  impersonal  machines  to  in- 
timate agencies  within  reach  of  the  average  family.  The  com- 
munity may  focus  its  attention,  on  the  other  hand,  on  the 
coordination  of  governmental  activities  and  by  means  of  mu- 
nicipal research,  budget  exhibits  and  the  like,  make  the  public 
business  take  on  new  efficiency  and  new  meaning. 

But  for  cities  of   from  25,000  to   250,000   population,   the 

(48s) 


12  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK  [Vol.  II 

simple  and  natural  and,  I  believe,  most  promising  result  of  the 
preliminary  survey,  would  be  a  systematic  community  survey 
growing  out  of  it,  one  with  sufficient  staff,  sufficient  time  and 
sufficient  expenditures  to  make  a  thorough-going  inventory  of 
the  life  and  labor  of  the  place,  to  seek  out  the  wastes  in  its  eco- 
nomic and  vital  resources,  to  captivate  and  give  constructive 
content  to  its  evanescent  and  often  sorely  exploited  enthusiasms, 
and  to  lay  a  sure  foundation  of  information  on  which  to  plan 
and  build  for  ten  years  ahead. 

The  scale  on  which  such  a  permanent  survey — and  by  per- 
manent I  of  course  do  not  mean  a  perennial  enterprise,  but  one 
enduring  in  the  foundation  it  lays — should  be  undertaken,  would 
depend  on  the  size  and  public  spirit  of  the  community.  But 
the  survey  movement  has  reached  a  point  where  we  can  say 
with  some  degree  of  precision — as  I  have  undertaken  to  do 
earlier  in  this  paper — what  are  the  essential  methods  which 
should  enter  into  its  work,  and  where  we  can  say,  with  some  de- 
gree of  conviction,  that  such  a  working  scheme  will  have  prac- 
tical and  far-reaching  results. 

^  Right  here,  it  may  be  well  to  interpolate  two  points  as  to  the 
civic  investment  which  a  community  puts  into  a  survey.  No 
town  should  be  balked  at  launching  one,  under  the  impression 
that  it  is  a  contraption  suited  only  to  a  large  city,  or  one 
which  only  a  great  philanthropic  foundation  can  afford.  I  have 
indicated  how  a  small  town  can  make  a  start  at  modest  expense  ; 
and  Dr.  Palmer  describes  the  wide  range  of  sanitary  investiga- 
tions which  he  carried  out  as  commissioner  of  public  health  of 
Springfield,  Illinois,  in  cooperation  with  local  people  and  at 
almost  no  extra  cost  to  the  city.  With  a  superintendent  of 
schools  as  far-sighted  and  resourceful  as  this  health  commis- 
sioner, a  judge  who  would  look  at  jails,  police  and  legal  pro- 
cesses with  what  the  Wisconsin  supreme  court  calls  twentieth- 
century  eyes,  an  engineer  with  ingenuity  and  vision,  and  with 
other  volunteers  and  officials  of  like  caliber,  men  with  social 
viewpoint  and  with  some  acquaintance  with  other  cities,  men 
giving  their  leisure  and  to  some  extent  their  working  hours  to 
the  plan,  you  would  have  a  local  staff  for  a  rounded  community 
survey.     They  could  carry  it  out  as  a  piece  of  good  citizenship 

(486) 


No.  4]  THE  SPREAD  OF  THE  SURVEY  IDEA  1 3 

on  a  level  which  would  command  national  attention  and  respect, 
and  which  would  set  a  new  gauge  for  civic  patriotism.  On  the 
other  hand,  consider  a  city  with  say  a  cigar-store  keeper  as 
health  commissioner,  without  any  health  reports,  and  with  acrid 
resistance  on  the  part  of  the  dominant  political  machine  to  any 
probing  of  its  health  service.  The  process  of  surveying  in  such 
a  backward  city  is  a  very  different  matter ;  so  also  is  the  cost  of 
bringing  onto  the  ground  a  sanitarian  of  Dr.  Palmer's  breadth 
of  outlook,  gained  from  his  work  in  the  state  and  city  public 
health  service ;  and  then  keeping  him  there  long  enough  to  get 
a  thorough  grasp  of  the  sanitary  situation,  and  to  gather  data 
sufficient  to  carry  the  town  with  him. 

And  here  we  are  close  to  the  fact  that  while  many  of  the 
more  obvious  social  conditions  can  be  brought  to  light  by  lay- 
men, the  reach  of  social  surveying  depends  on  those  qualities 
which  we  associate  with  the  expert  in  every  profession ;  knowl- 
edge of  the  why  of  sanitary  technique,  for  example,  and  of  the 
how  by  which  other  cities  have  wrought  out  this  reform  and 
that.  And  townsmen  who  would  think  nothing  of  paying  the 
county  engineer  a  sizable  fee  to  run  a  line  for  a  fence  bound- 
ary must  be  educated  up  to  the  point  where  they  will  see  the 
economy  of  investing  in  trained  service  in  social  and  civic  up- 
building. Unscientific  acquaintance  with  what  other  cities  are 
doing  may  lead  only  to  duplicating  their  mistakes ;  untraveled 
advice  may,  on  the  other  hand,  lead  only  to  finding  out  slowly 
and  at  bitter  cost  what  has  elsewhere  been  demonstrated. 
Ignorance  of  the  facts  that  lie  concealed  in  an  unresolved  mass 
of  local  statistics  is  only  less  costly,  humanly  speaking,  than  the 
too  ready  acceptance  of  notions  which  hearty  but  ignorant 
handling  can  shake  out  of  the  same  statistics. 

My  second  point  as  to  the  civic  investment  in  a  survey  is  that 
it  pays  not  only  for  a  city  to  get  at  its  underlying  facts  but  to 
get  those  facts  out  into  the  open.  There  is  no  older  subterfuge 
than  to  beat  the  drums  of  local  pride  and  charge  that  the 
leaders  who  are  overhauling  bad  conditions  are  injuring  the  fair 
name  of  a  city.  This  charge  finds  customary  expression  in  the 
rumor  that  manufacturing  enterprises  will  keep  away  if  they 
learn  that  the  schools  are  poor,  the  council  is  full  of  graft,  or 

(487) 


14  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK  [Vol.11 

the  water  is  infected;  and  that  one  who  advertises  these 
things  by  rousing  the  public  to  reform  is  the  town  traitor.  Yet 
the  city  of  the  Southwest  that,  as  a  gala  day  approached,  put 
up  a  high  board  fence  so  that  you  could  not  see  the  shacks  that 
at  one  point  lined  its  principal  thoroughfare,  may  have  fooled  the 
distinguished  visitor  who  was  driven  past,  but  it  could  not  fool 
the  manufacturer  who  is  looking  for  a  new  site ;  still  less — and 
this  is  equally  important  from  the  standpoint  of  local  interests 
— could  it  fool  intelligent  workmen  who  are  looking  for  a  town 
in  which  to  bring  up  their  families.  I  have  known  of  an  enter- 
prise that  refused  to  settle  in  a  city  because  it  would  not  bribe 
the  aldermen  for  a  side  track  (perhaps  the  first  of  a  long  series 
of  petty  hold-ups)  and  of  another  that  refused  to  settle  where 
skilled  mechanics  could  not  find  the  sort  of  living  conditions 
and  recreation  they  were  accilstomed  to.  It  could  not  get 
its  men  to  come  along.  When  such  decisions  hang  in  the 
balance  I  fancy  one  factor  that  counts  in  Worcester's  favor  is 
the  fight  of  its  manufacturers  against  tuberculosis,  in  Pittsburgh's 
favor  is  the  great  filtration  plant  with  which  the  city  has  downed 
typhoid,  in  Cleveland's  favor  is  the  civic  campaigns  of  its 
Chamber  of  Commerce.  All  these  things  stand  for  enterprise. 
They  are  upbuilding  of  the  sort  which  means  first  of  all  getting 
down  to  bed  rock ;  and  that  is  the  sort  of  investment  which  a 
city  puts  into  a  survey. 

Convinced  as  I  am,  however,  that  a  survey  is  ''  good  busi- 
ness "  in  the  long  run  from  the  standpoint  of  a  city's  prosperity, 
it  has  a  broader  appeal.  It  is  one  of  the  channels  open  to  the 
aroused  social  conscience  of  our  generation.  In  the  govern- 
mental field  we  have  two  strong  movements — one  towards 
greater  efficiency ;  the  other  towards  greater  democracy.  The 
first  is  reflected  nationally  by  the  President's  Commission  on 
Efficiency  and  Economy;  the  second  finds  expression  in  the 
Western  insurgent  movement  which  through  the  initiative, 
referendum  and  recall,  seeks  to  bring  the  legislative  "  say " 
back  to  the  people.  If  we  were  to  personify  the  first  move- 
ment, it  would  be  to  give  it  the  character  of  the  expert ;  the 
second,  the  character  of  the  average  citizen.  And  in  the  gen- 
eral trend,  we  have  the  expert  and  the  average  man  coming  to- 

(488) 


No.  4]  THE  SPREAD  OF  THE  SURVEY  IDEA  1 5 

gether :  and  jointly  challenging  the  frontage  which  existing  in- 
stitutions, professions  and  organized  forces  bear  toward  the 
needs  of  the  times. 

They  challenge  the  church,  the  school,  the  city  council, 
the  court,  the  mill,  in  the  name  of  the  mighty  industrial 
changes  which  have  put  new  strains  on  old  institutions ;  in  the 
name  of  science,  which  has  opened  new  possibilities  and  new 
hopes ;  and  in  the  name  of  the  common  welfare  which  is  strik- 
ing a  fairer  balance  between  property  and  life. 

For  many  existing  conditions  we  have  only  ourselves  to 
blame ;  but  in  changing  them,  we  have  to  overcome  the  re- 
sistance of  those  whose  scheme  of  service  to  the  community 
has  grown  up  with  the  old  conditions.  Dr.  Palmer  illustrates 
this  in  what  he  says  of  the  milk  supply.  Let  us  look  at  the 
milkman  as  a  factor  in  the  community  life — an  institution  if  you 
will.  In  the  past  we  may  have  officially  asked  of  him  a  certain 
grade  of  butter-fat  in  his  milk,  but  that  is  a  dairyman's  standard, 
worked  out  in  the  cheese  and  butter  trade.  We  have  demanded 
a  collar  of  cream  as  a  sign  of  richness — the  uninformed  milk- 
drinker's  notion  of  protecting  himself  against  watered  milk. 
But  we  are  only  beginning  to  demand  what  the  dietitians  and 
physicians  are  showing  us  is  more  important  than  either  of 
these,  namely,  clean  milk — clean  milk,  rendered  more  difficult 
to  obtain  by  the  very  dirt  and  congestion  of  our  new  urban  con- 
ditions ;  rendered  vital  by  the  laboratory  discoveries  of  the  last 
twenty  years  in  bacterial  diseases;  rendered  possible  by  our 
advances  in  methods  of  sterilization ;  rendered  an  issue  among 
the  people  at  large,  by  the  demonstrable  effect  of  dirty  milk 
upon  the  health  of  thousands  of  babies — a  human  test,  this  last, 
such  as  enables  the  average  mother  and  the  expert  sanitarian 
to  join  forces  in  a  campaign  to  clean  up  stables  and  milk  routes, 
and  to  put  an  end  to  dirty  cans  and  tuberculous  cows.  I  need 
not  show  how  through  all  this  runs  the  three-fold  challenge  in 
the  name  of  mighty  industrial  changes,  of  scientific  advance  and 
of  the  common  welfare. 

That  challenge  is  one  repeated  over  and  over  again  in  the 
fields  of  social  concern.  It  does  not  require  a  very  wide  stretch 
of  the  imagination  to  apply  the  same  analysis  to  the  Titanic 

(489) 


l6  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK  [Vol.  II 

disaster.  Compare  the  commercial  demand  for  speed  and 
capacity  in  ocean  liners  with  the  commercial  demand  for  butter 
fat.  Compare  the  blind  popular  demand  for  luxuries  in  cabins 
with  the  blind  popular  demand  for  a  thick  collar  of  cream. 
Life  boats  are  like  clean  milk.  Safety  is  a  human  rather 
than  a  commercial  standard.  Some  naval  experts  have  been 
preaching  it  for  years,  but  their  judgments  have  fallen  on  deaf 
ears.  Now  the  average  man  at  last  sees;  and  (in  high  rage)  he 
is  calling  for  a  change.  Those  responsible  for  ocean  vessels 
are  charged  to  make  safety  keep  pace  with  the  great  structural 
changes  in  the  shipping  industry ;  to  apply  science  to  human 
well-being,  as  well  as  to  speed. 

In  many  of  these  deep-seated  social  needs,  apparently  some 
great  disaster  has  to  overtake  us,  and  smite  us,  before  as  a  peo- 
ple we  are  aroused  to  them,  and  half-blindly,  often  wholly  un- 
thinking of  our  own  responsibility,  demand  immediate  reform. 
This  is  so  whether  it  is  a  dam  which  gives  way  like  Austin ;  or 
a  theatre  which  burns  like  the  Iroquois ;  or  a  blazing  school- 
house  full  of  children  like  that  at  Cleveland ;  or  a  loft  building 
like  the  Triangle.  Coupled  with  this  very  human  tendency  is 
another,  equally  human.  For  while  it  takes  one  of  these  great 
disasters  to  drive  the  lesson  home,  we  are  faced  with  the  fact 
that  the  feeling  of  exasperation  and  purpose,  the  '*  conscience- 
smittenness"  of  the  community,  more  often  than  not  fritters 
away  before  it  accomplishes  anything.  Thus  a  year  has  already 
elapsed  since  the  lives  of  146  working  people  were  snuffed  out 
in  the  Triangle  disaster  in  New  York,  and  while  public  indig- 
nation has  vented  itself  in  mass  meetings  and  safety  com- 
mittees, in  investigating  commissions  and  fire  bills,  there  has 
been  no  action  within  the  intervening  twelve  months  which 
would  thoroughly  prevent  the  recurrence  of  such  a  panic  fire 
and  no  sure  provision  which  would  get  the  people  out,  any  more 
than  the  Titanic's  meager  life-boat  equipment  was  enough  to 
float  the  two  cabins,  the  crew  and  the  steerage,  when  the  great 
boat  sank.  Had  a  modern  shipload  of  passengers  in  New  York 
harbor  ever  gone  through  the  motions  of  getting  into  the 
life  boats  and  away,  the  safety  equipment  of  our  ocean  liners 
would  have  been  put  to  a  human  test.     That  test  would  have 

(490) 


No.  4]  THE  SPREAD  OF  THE  SURVEY  IDEA  1 7 

borne  out  what  the  naval  experts  had  been  saying,  and  would 
have  demonstrated  it  so  thrillingly  that  not  only  the  people  who 
were  left  behind  on  deck  would  have  seen  their  own  helpless- 
ness, but  average  citizens  everywhere  would  have  been  alive 
to  what  safety  means  in  ocean  travel. 

To  visualize  needs  which  are  not  so  spectacular  but  are  no 
less  real,  is  the  work  of  the  survey — to  bring  them  to  human 
terms,  to  put  the  operations  of  the  government,  of  social  insti- 
tutions and  of  industrial  establishments  to  the  test  of  individual 
lives,  to  bring  the  knowledge  and  inventions  of  scientists  and 
experts  home  to  the  common  imagination,  and  to  gain  for  their 
proposals  the  dynamic  backing  of  a  convinced  democracy. 

The  survey  cannot  count  upon  a  catastrophe  to  point  its 
morals.  The  public  interest  it  creates  comes  harder  but  has 
better  staying  qualities.  In  so  far  as  it  must  lay  a  framework 
for  setting  forth  the  wide  range  of  needs  and  opportunities 
which  fall  within  its  field,  so  it  has  inherent  the  prospect  of 
a  more  sustained  and  organic  accomplishment. 

(491) 


A  SOCIAL  SURVEY  OF  A  TYPICAL  AMERICAN  CITY' 


J 


SHELBY  M.  HARRISON 
Director  of  the  Syracuse  Social  Survey 

UST  as  cities  or  communities  differ,  so  will  city  or  commu- 
nity surveys  be  different.  Any  set  method  for  this  kind 
of  inventory-taking,  intended  for  general  application,  must 
after  all  be  largely  suggestive,  leaving  wide  latitude  for  shifting 
the  emphasis  according  as  conditions  vary  from  city  to  city. 
Not  with  the  thought,  therefore,  that  the  recent  preliminary 
social  survey  of  the  city  of  Syracuse,  New  York,  presents  an 
inclusive  plan  for  city  surveying  nor  that  it  is  a  sample  of  what 
a  full-fledged  city  survey  ought  to  be ;  but,  rather,  that  it  may 
carry  some  suggestion  for  organizing  and  defining  a  city  survey 
and  be  an  illustrative  instance  of  what  one  city  did  toward  secur- 
ing a  program  of  '*  next-steps  "  in  its  civic  and  social  develop- 
ment, that  undertaking  is  recounted. 

About  a  year  ago  several  citizens  of  Syracuse,  among  them 
Rev.  Murray  S.  Rowland  and  Paul  E.  Illman,  became  convinced 
that  the  rapid  growth  of  the  city  in  the  last  decade,  with  its  con- 
sequent changes  in  social  relationships,  had  brought  new  prob- 
lems caUing  for  new  diagnosis  and  treatment,  and  that  the  time 
had  come  for  at  least  a  preliminary  stock-taking  of  local  con- 
ditions affecting  the  life,  health  and  progress  of  the  city's  i  $0,000 
people.  This  purpose  became  specific  along  at  least  two  lines : 
first,  to  gather  sufficient  data  on  points  which  seemed  to  call  for 
immediate  action  so  that  definite  constructive  recommendations 
could  be  made ;  and  second,  to  make  a  sufficient  diagnosis  of 
general  conditions  so  as  to  determine  whether  and  along  what 
lines  a  later,  more  intensive  survey  should  be  carried  on. 

In  order  to  give  the  enterprise  strong  and  wide  local  backing, 
the  support  of  the  four  large  organizations  in  the  city  which 
themselves  were  federations  of  other  organizations  was  sought 
and  secured,  namely,  the  Ministerial  Association,  which  includes 

*Read  at  the  meeting  of  the  Academy  of  Political  Science,  April  18,  1912. 

(492) 


SURVEY  OF  A  TYPICAL  AMERICAN  CITY  19 

something  over  a  hundred  churches;  the  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce, which  represents  employers  and  industrial  and  com- 
mercial organizations;  the  Central  Trades  Assembly,  which 
represents  all  the  labor  unions  of  the  city ;  and  the  Associated 
Charities,  which  represents  to  some  extent  the  relief  agencies. 
The  Chamber  of  Commerce  subscribed  two-fifths  of  the  esti- 
mated expenses  of  the  survey,  and  each  of  the  other  three 
organizations  guaranteed  one-fifth.  Each  organization  chose 
three  representatives  on  a  central  survey  committee  of  twelve, 
and  gave  the  committee  full  power  to  go  ahead  with  the  survey. 
The  committee  included  some  of  the  most  influential  men  in  the 
city.  Representing,  as  it  did,  forces  that  are  not  always  in 
accord  in  city  life,  the  committee  developed  into  a  very  remark- 
able working  group — so  remarkable,  in  fact,  that  people  outside 
the  group  were  unwilling  to  see  it  broken  up  after  it  had  com- 
pleted the  immediate  work  to  which  it  was  committed. 

A  director  from  outside  the  city  was  secured  to  carry  the 
social  inventory  as  far  as  seemed  practicable  in  five  weeks ;  and 
several  sub-committees  were  appointed  to  gather  general  in- 
formation which  would  be  of  use  to  the  investigators — including 
city  and  county  reports  for  a  number  of  years  back ;  special 
reports  published  by  the  chamber  of  commerce,  the  board  of 
education,  the  academy  of  medicine  and  other  organizations ; 
population  figures ;  maps ;  city  ordinances ;  and  so  on.  The 
director  spent  most  of  his  first  week  in  company  with  some 
member  or  members  of  the  central  committee,  interviewing 
city  officials,  business  men,  labor  leaders,  clergymen,  teachers, 
social  workers,  physicians  and  others  familiar  with  social  con- 
ditions. The  purpose  of  the  interviews  was  to  become  saturated 
with  the  main  facts  of  the  community,  especially  those  which 
indicated,  from  many  points  of  view,  improvements  made  in  the 
last  ten  or  fifteen  years,  and  improvements  also  from  many 
points  of  view  that  were  thought  to  be  needed  in  the  next  few 
years  ahead.  With  these  facts  digested  the  central  committee 
picked  out  the  main  lines  of  inquiry  to  be  followed.  They 
were,  in  broad  terms : 

1.  Health  conservation  and  sanitation. 

2.  Housing  conditions  among  unskilled  workers. 

(493) 


20  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK  [Vol.11 

3.  The  betterment  agencies  of  the  city. 

4.  Foreign  populations. 

5.  Juvenile  delinquency. 

6.  Civic  improvement. 

7.  Labor  conditions. 

Certain  phases  of  municipal  accounting,  public  finance  and 
local  taxation,  would  have  been  included  in  the  survey,  but  for 
the  fact  that  one  member  of  the  central  committee  had  already 
set  on  foot  plans  for  handling  such  an  investigation  in  another 
way.  This  investigation  has  since  been  made  by  experts  from 
the  New  York  Bureau  of  Municipal  Research ;  and  interest  in  it 
had  undoubtedly  been  enhanced  by  the  social  and  civic  revival 
which  citizens  are  free  to  credit  as  one  of  the  results  of  the 
social  survey. 

All  of  these  subjects  chosen  presented  phases  of  such  current 
importance  that  the  committee  wished  them  followed  further; 
yet  it  was  evident  that  each  subject,  to  be  covered  adequately, 
would  require  the  investigator's  time  for  more  than  the  remain- 
ing four  weeks.  A  request  was  therefore  made  to  several  state 
and  national  organizations,  which  sooner  or  later  would  be  con- 
ducting investigations  of  their  own  in  Syracuse,  to  send  their 
representatives  at  once.  They  would  thus  cooperate  with  the 
survey,  and  on  the  other  hand  they  would  gain  for  their  own 
work  through  the  strong  local  backing  afforded  in  the  central 
survey  committee.  A  number  of  organizations  responded  im- 
mediately, among  them  the  New  York  Child  Labor  Committee, 
the  North  American  Civic  League  for  Immigrants,  the  National 
Housing  Association,  the  National  Consumers'  League  and  the 
National  Prison  Labor  Committee.  In  addition  to  this  outside 
cooperation  a  score  of  Syracuse  people  volunteered  their  services 
as  a  personal  contribution  to  the  survey — among  them  a  young 
physician,  who  made  the  study  of  the  city's  vital  statistics;  a 
young  rabbi,  who  prepared  a  statement  of  playground  equip- 
ment and  needs ;  the  secretary  of  the  associated  charities,  who 
took  charge  of  the  housing  investigation ;  an  official  of  the  city 
sewerage  commission,  who  prepared  a  summary  of  the  sewerage 
situation;  the  probation  officers,  who  studied  juvenile  delin- 
quency ;  a  young  lawyer,  who  gathered  data  on  relief  work  in  the 

(494) 


No.  4]  SURVEY  OF  A  TYPICAL  AMERICAN  CITY  2 1 

city ;  students  in  a  sociology  class  in  the  university,  who  aided 
in  the  investigation  of  child  labor  in  the  street  trades;  and 
others  who  made  maps  and  charts,  arranged  exhibits,  offered 
prizes  or  acted  as  judges.  The  liberal  cooperation  of  the  news- 
papers was  invaluable. 

A  work-program  indicating  data  to  be  gathered  on  each 
major  subject  was  worked  out  by  the  different  investigators  and 
the  survey  director ;  and  the  latter  spent  the  remainder  of  his 
time  investigating  several  phases  of  labor  conditions.  As 
already  indicated,  the  reports  were  not  expected  to  be  analyses 
of  many  or  all  sides  of  the  subjects  inquired  into ;  they  were  to 
take  up  only  those  matters  which  seemed  to  call  for  immediate 
action  or  which  pointed  the  need  for  more  extended  study. 
The  outlines  of  facts  to  be  looked  for,  however,  covered  a  range 
wide  enough  to  allow  the  different  investigators  some  degree  of 
latitude  in  deciding,  as  they  got  deeper  into  the  fact-gathering, 
what  matters  should  be  given  special  scrutiny.  Several  of  the 
work-programs  follow : 

A.     Health  and  its  Conservation 

I.  Vital  statistics 

a.  General  death  rates  for  1 907-08-09-1  o-i  i ;  and  average 
death  rates  for  five-year  periods  running  back  twenty  years ; 
infant  death  rates,  same  period. 

b.  Distribution  of  deaths  by  wards,  for  1910. 

c.  Population  by  age  and  sex  in  each  ward,  in  19 10. 

d.  Deaths  from  the  more  prevalent  diseases  for  the  last  ten 
years,  especially  contagious  and  preventable  diseases  such  as 
typhoid,  tuberculosis,  diarrhea  and  enteritis  (under  one  and 
under  five  years  of  age),  and  pneumonia. 

e.  Case  rates  of  the  diseases  more  prevalent  locally  for  the 
last  ten  years — especially  contagious  and  preventable  diseases, 
such  as  diphtheria,  typhoid,  measles,  scarlet  fever,  tuberculosis. 

f .  Births :  reporting  of ;  still  births ;  birth  rates  compared 
with  other  cities  of  similar  size  and  population  make-up. 

II.  Health  administration 

a.  Effect  of  administering  health  work  through  a  subordinate 

(495) 


22  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.11 

bureau  of  the  department  of  public  safety,  instead  of  through  a 
department  of  health ;  adequacy  or  inadequacy  of  heath  appro- 
priations. 

b.  Educational  work  for  health;  any  special  needs;  opportu- 
nities for  increasing  educational  work  as  shown  by  work  done 
in  other  cities. 

c.  Organized  work  against  venereal  diseases  ;  its  chief  needs  ; 
work  done  by  Syracuse  Society  for  Prevention  of  Social 
Diseases. 

d.  Quarantine  practise  in  less  serious  contagious  diseases. 

e.  Medical  inspection  of  schools;  how  adequate?  In  all 
schools?     How  financed? 

III.  Food  inspection 

a.  Meat,  fruit,  fish. 

b.  Screening  from  flies. 

c.  Milk  supply ;  analysis  of  bacteriological  count  from  Janu- 
ary I  to  July  I,  191 1  ;  percentage  of  producers  whose  milk  was 
above  the  maximum  bacterial  count ;  method  of  enforcing  the 
milk  rule ;  any  licenses  revoked  ;  analysis  of  cream  count ;  need 
of  better  publicity  work  on  milk  and  cream  scoring. 

IV.  Water  supply 

a.  Source  of  general  supply ;   water  sheds ;   cost. 

b.  Surface  wells ;   springs. 

V.  Sewerage  system 

a.  Houses  connected ;  open  privy  vaults  not  connected  with 
sewers. 

b.  Location  of  sewer  outlets. 

VI.  Garbage  disposal 

a.  Cost;    method. 

b.  Location  of  plants. 

c.  Method  of  collection  of  garbage. 

B.     Housing  of  the  Unskilled  Workers 
I.  A  close   study  of  six   typical  districts  where   the  unskilled 
workers  live 
a.   Apartment  buildings:   number  separate  apartments;   ma- 
terial ;    stories ;   repair ;   halls ;   fire  escapes ;   basements. 

(496) 


No.  4]  SURVEY  OF  A  TYPICAL  AMERICAN  CITY  23 

b.  Family  apartments  in  the  buildings  (facts  relating  to  indi- 
vidual apartments  rather  than  the  whole  building  of  which  each 
apartment  is  a  part)  :  number  of  rooms ;  number  of  famihes ; 
number  of  adults,  children  and  boarders;  cleanliness;  light; 
ventilation ;   plumbing. 

c.  Water  supply :  location ;  number  of  persons  per  tap ; 
bath;   drainage. 

d.  Yards:  area;  cleanliness;  live  stock;  alley;  garbage; 
rubbish. 

e.  Toilets :  inside  ;  outside  ;  cleanHness ;  number  using ; 
sewer  connection. 

f.  Rent. 

II.  Similar  close  study  of  a  few  old  tenement  houses 

III.  Similar  study  of  a  few  new  apartment  and  tenement  houses 
To   see  whether  the  new  ones  are  conforming  to   accepted 

principles  of  good  housing,  or  whether  they  are  making  the 
same  mistakes  as  those  made  in  the  old  tenements. 

IV.  Lodging  houses 

Number ;  rooms ;  beds ;  air-space  per  bed ;  charges  for 
lodging. 

V.  A  census  of  the  number  of  open  privy  vaults,  by  wards, 

throughout  the  city 

C.    Foreign  Population 
I.  Statistics  of  foreign  populations 

a.  Total  number  of  foreigners ;   number  by  nationalities. 

b.  Number,  by  sex  and  age  groups. 

c.  Number  of  families. 

d.  Number  of  immigrants,  by  nationalities,  admitted  to  New 
York  state  during  1909-19 10. 

e.  Sex  and  ages  of  same. 

f.  Illiteracy  of  those  14  years  old  and  over. 

g.  Number  of  immigrants,  by  nationalities,  who  arrived  in 
Syracuse  during  1909-19 10. 

h.  Number,  by  nationalities,  in  hospitals, 
i.   Number  in  prison. 

j.  Number  in  almshouses;  number  applying  for  reHef  and 
charity. 

(497) 


24.  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK  [Vol.11 

II.  Neighborhoods  W 
a.  Map  showing  foreign  quarters,  by  nationalities. 

III.  Housing  and  lodging  conditions  (made  in  conjunction  with 

general  housing  study) 

a.  Kind  of  lodging. 

b.  Study  of  a  few  old  tenements  in  each  neighborhood. 

c.  Number  of  persons  in  each  house. 

d.  Number  of  lodgers  and  families. 

e.  Number  of  persons  and  beds  in  each  room. 

f.  List  of  lodging  houses  and  number  of  immigrant  lodgers 
in  each  place. 

IV.  Industrial  opportunities 

a.  Industries  employing  foreigners. 

b.  Number,  by  nationalities,  in  each  industry. 

c.  Methods  of  obtaining  work. 

d.  Hours  of  work,  in  general.     ' 

e.  Days  per  week. 

f.  Any  night  work. 

g.  Industries  continuous  through  year, 
h.  Days  worked  yearly  and  quarterly. 

i.  Estimated  average  yearly  wages  for  both  skilled  and  un- 
skilled workers. 

V.  Economic  conditions 

a.  Amount  of  money  transmitted  to  different  countries  dur- 
ing 1 909-1910  by  post-office  money  orders;  drafts  on  foreign 
banks ;   express  orders. 

b.  Number  of  local  foreign  bankers. 

c.  Number  of  steamship  ticket  agents. 

d.  Any  need  for  postal  savings  banks? 

e.  Number  of  immigrants  that  own  houses. 

VI.  Educational  opportunities 

a.  Number  and  location  of  public  schools ;  of  evening  classes ; 
of  private  schools. 

b.  Number  of  adults  and  children,  by  nationalities,  attending 
evening  schools. 

(498) 


I 


No.  4]  SURVEY  OF  A  TYPICAL  AMERICAN  CITY  25 

VII.  Naturalization 

a.  Number  of  applicants  for  first  papers,  by  nationalities,  for 
the  last  five  years. 

b.  Applicants  for  final  papers,  by  nationalities,  for  the  last 
five  years. 

c.  Number  of  final  papers  issued. 

d.  Final  papers  denied. 

e.  Final  papers  still  pending. 

f.  Number    of    naturalized    citizens  who   voted    at   last   few 
elections. 

VIII.  Courts 

a.  Number  of  arrests  and  convictions,  by  ages  and  nation- 
alities. 

b.  Juvenile  delinquency. 

c.  Interpreters  in  court. 

d.  Shyster  lawyers. 

e.  Any  legal  aid  societies? 

f.  Action  in  accident  cases. 

g.  Ambulance  chasers. 

IX.  Social  agencies  for  betterment,  protection  and  relief. 

a.  Foreign  societies. 

b.  Labor  unions  among  foreigners. 

c.  Civic  clubs  among  foreigners. 

d.  Settlements. 

e.  Playgrounds  accessible  to  immigrants. 

f.  Pubhc  baths. 

g.  Consuls  or  consular  agents, 
h.  Handicap  of  foreign  women. 

i.    Notaries  public,  midwives  and  doctors,  among  foreigners. 

D.    Juvenile  delinquency 

I.  An  analysis  of  cases  of  juvenile  delinquency,  by  wards  and 
blocks,  throughout  the  city 
Its  relation  to  the  congestion  of  population  and  the  lack  of 
open  spaces  where  children  may  play. 

(499) 


26  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK  [Vol.11 

II.  Nature  of  offenses 

a.  Proportion  that  are  offenses  against  the  person ;   propor- 
tion offenses  against  property. 

b.  Locality  in  which  offenses  against  property  predominate 
over  offenses  against  person,  and  vice  versa. 

c.  Similarly,  by  nationalities. 

d.  Proportion  that  are  first  offenders ;  proportion  repeaters. 

III.  Individual  conditions 

a.  Age  of  largest  proportion  of  offenders  of  both  sexes. 

b.  Physical  condition — stature  and  weight;   diseased? 

c.  Mental  condition :   proportions  bright,  dull,  defective,  fear- 
less, venturesome. 

IV.  Social  environment 

a.  Parental  condition :    proportion  with  both  parents  living ; 
proportion  fatherless,  motherless,  orphans,  illegitimates. 

b.  Condition  of  home  :  regular  employment ;  kind  of  employ- 
ment. 

V.  Conclusions 

Remedial  agencies  needed ;  playgrounds,  boys'  clubs,  library 
extension  ? 

E.    Labor  Conditions,  General 

I.  Wages  of  men  and  women  in  industry 

a.  Weekly  earnings ;  skilled  or  unskilled,  by  trades. 

b.  Annual  earnings. 

c.  Day  labor  or  piece  work,  by  industries. 

d.  Increases  in  pay  in  last  15  years. 

e.  Extra  pay  for  overtime  work. 

f .  Recent  changes  in  hours  per  day  affecting  wages. 

g.  "•  Speeding"  tendencies,  if  any. 

II.  Hours  of  labor 

a.  Hours  per  day ;  Saturday  hours. 

b.  Days  per  week — any  seven-day  labor? 

c.  Extra  time  work. 

d.  Day  work  or  night  work. 

(500) 


No.  4]  SURVEY  OF  A  TYPICAL  AMERICAN  CITY  27 

e.  Industry  continuous  through  year.      Days  worked  in  year. 

f.  How  long  in  the  industry. 

III.  Conditions  of  labor 

a.  Sanitary  conditions  of  plant — ventilation. 

b.  Occupational  diseases. 

c.  Industrial  accidents  :   safety  devices  ;  settlements  for  injury 
or  death. 

IV.  Organization  of  labor  and  capital. 

a.  Trade  unions. 

b.  Union  of  employers. 

c.  Protective  agencies:  insurance;  hospitals;  societies;   legal 
aid. 

d.  Avenues  of  expression  regarding  work  conditions. 

V.  Individual  and  home  conditions 

a.  Married  ;  any  children  ;   keep  boarders ;  other  members  of 
family  work ;  own  home  ? 

b.  Support  self. 

c.  Save  any  money? 

d.  Leisure  for  reading  or  recreation. 

e.  Sanitary  conditions  of  home  surroundings. 

VI.  Any  recent  serious  labor  troubles ;  strikes,  lockouts. 

F.     Child  Labor 

I.  Thoroughness  of  inspection 

a.  Number  of  children  granted  work  certificates,  by  nation- 
alities. 

b.  Number  found  by  inspectors. 

c.  Number  not  found. 

d.  Number  of  inspectors. 

II.  Newsboys 

a.  Age  classification. 

b.  Violators  of  the  law. 

c.  Earnings. 

d.  Character  of  school  work  done  by  newsboys. 

e.  Newsboys  in  juvenile  court. 

f.  Newsboys  and  truant  school. 

(SOI) 


28  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK  [Vol.11 

III.  Issuance  and  regulation  of  working  papers 

IV.  Summer  child  workers 

a.  Number  missing  more  than  one  week  of  school. 

b.  Average  time  missed. 

c.  Effect  on  scholarship. 

V.  Night  messenger  law 

VI.  Hours,  pay,  regulation,  among  child  workers 

a.  Bootblacks. 

b.  Pin  boys  in  bowling  alleys. 

c.  Morning  paper  carriers. 

d.  Child  workers  in  home  industry. 

The  outline  on  betterment  agencies  laid  special  emphasis 
upon  the  investment  in  equipment,  the  cost  of  relief  work,  and 
the  social  responsibility  felt  by  church,  school,  university, 
hospital.  Christian  associations  and  settlements;  and  the  out- 
line on  civic  improvement  covered  the  need  of  a  city  plan, 
directions  of  the  city's  growth,  recreation  needs,  park  and 
playground  facilities,  the  elimination  of  grade  crossings  and  the 
improvement  of  water  fronts. 

As  the  investigations  progressed  the  mass  of  data  collected 
began  to  show  cleavages  along  certain  clear-cut  lines ;  and  by 
autumn  after  the  several  reports  were  drafted  the  central  com- 
mittee was  able  to  put  its  finger  upon  what  it  had  reason  to 
believe  to  be  the  weak  spots  in  local  civic  and  social  conditions. 

In  order  to  give  the  findings  of  the  survey  wide  local  publicity 
the  central  committee  determined  to  have  a  Know-Your-City- 
Week  last  November.  The  week  started  off  with  forty  minis- 
ters preaching  sermons,  on  Sunday  morning,  on  the  civic  re- 
sponsibilities of  citizenship.  On  Monday  exercises  were  held 
in  the  public  schools,  the  main  feature  being  the  reading  of 
prize  essays  written  by  the  children  of  the  schools  on  '*  How  to 
Make  Syracuse  a  Better  City."  Over  looo  essays  were  written 
and  the  dominant  note  struck  in  the  essays  indicated  that  the 
children  had  caught  the  point  that  a  better  city  involves  not  only 
greater  business  prosperity  but  the  betterment  of  living  and 
work  conditions ;  in  other  words,  that  emphasis  upon  human 
welfare,  whether  through  better  sanitation  and   public   health 

(502) 


No.  4]  SURVEY  OF  A  TYPICAL  AMERICAN  CITY  29 

regulations,  better  houses  to  live  in,  safer  places  to  work  in, 
or  greater  opportunities  for  self-improvement,  is  of  prime  im- 
portance in  city  advance.  The  survey  committee  regarded 
the  essay  contest  as  one  of  the  best  achievements  of  the  whole 
enterprise.  On  the  other  afternoons  throughout  the  week, 
conferences  on  concrete  local  problems  were  held  in  one  of  the 
chambers  of  the  county  court  house.  In  the  main,  the  subjects 
were  closely  related  to  those  discussed  at  the  respective  evening 
meetings ;  and  the  discussions  were  led  and  participated  in  by 
representative  citizens,  upon  the  shoulders  of  many  of  whom 
the  work  of  carrying  out  reform  measures  advocated  by  the 
committee  would  undoubtedly  fall. 

At  the  evening  mass  meetings,  which  were  attended  by  an 
average  of  500  persons  per  night,  the  survey  reports  were  read 
from  the  platform ;  and  speakers  from  out  of  the  city  pointed 
the  moral  of  local  findings  from  the  vantage  point  of  a  national 
perspective.  One  of  these  meetings,  the  one  which  probably 
involved  the  greatest  outlay  of  both  time  and  money,  was  com- 
pletely taken  charge  of  by  the  physicians  of  the  local  Academy 
of  Medicine.  The  larger  audience  reached,  of  course,  was 
through  the  medium  of  the  newspapers,  which  cooperated 
thoroughly.  Several  of  the  reports  were  reproduced  in  full  by 
the  press.  Further  publicity  for  the  facts  was  gained  through 
the  exhibit  of  maps,  charts,  and  diagrams  showing  graphically 
the  kernel  of  each  report.  The  exhibit  occupied  sixty  feet  of 
window  space  of  a  retail  store  on  one  of  the  most  prominent 
street  corners  in  the  city. 

With  reports  in  hand  the  central  committee  formulated  seven 
resolutions  as  a  preliminary  working  program  for  the  city,  which 
would  not  be  partisan,  sectarian  or  sectional,  but  would  aim  at 
healthy  industrial  and  social  growth.  In  an  eighth  resolution 
the  committee  sent  back  to  the  bodies  which  created  it,  and 
which  it  jointly  represented,  a  recommendation  that  they  take 
action  to  see  that  the  program  is  entered  upon.  The  resolu- 
tions are  as  follows : 

First,  that  the  mayor  and  common  council  be  urged  to  estab- 
lish a  city-planning  and  housing  commission  to  secure  a  plan 
for  the  city's  growth  and  development,  and  draw  up  a  housing 

(503) 


30  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.  II 

code  such  as  would  meet  the  needs  of  the  city  for  some  time 
to  come. 

Second,  that  the  board  of  education  be  petitioned  to  consider 
and  adopt  a  far-reaching  plan  for  the  education  of  the  foreign 
population  of  the  city  by  a  larger  provision  of  night  schools,  by 
the  introduction  of  civics  and  industrial  courses  in  night  schools 
and  by  the  extension  of  vocational  training  to  the  grades. 

Third,  that  the  police  and  school  departments  be  petitioned 
to  enforce  the  child-labor  laws  relative  to  the  street  trades. 

Fourth,  that  the  board  of  health  be  petitioned  to  provide : 

(a)  For  the  inspection  of  mercantile  establishments  and  for 
the  enforcement  of  those  provisions  relating  to  child  labor, 
hours  of  work  of  women,  and  sanitary  conditions  under  which 
such  people  work. 

(b)  For  the  publishing  monthly  of  the  milk  score  of  all  milk 
producers  whose  milk  is  sold  in  the  city. 

(c)  For  more  rigid  inspection  of  tenements. 

r-  (d)  For  the  engagement  by  the  city  of  the  services  of  some 
sanitarian  of  national  standing  to  study  and  report  on  the  needs 
of  the  public  health  of  Syracuse,  as  a  basis  for  planning  future 
health  work. 

Fifth,  that  the  employers  engaged  in  such  industries  as  re- 
quire the  plant  to  be  in  continuous  operation  be  urged  to  make 
such  adjustments  as  to  assure  every  laborer  one  day  of  rest  in 
seven. 

Sixth,  that  there  should  be  among  the  betterment  agencies  of 
the  city  a  closer  cooperation  expressed  in  some  system,  such  as 
a  united  charities,  a  social-service  league  or  an  associated  chari- 
ties organized  on  broader  lines  than  those  in  existence  at 
present. 

Seventh,  that  the  city  at  large  have  some  organization  to 
study  the  needs  and  development  of  the  city  and  to  crystallize 
the  findings  of  such  studies  in  some  yearly  program  such  as 
this  Know-Your-City-Week. 

Eighth,  that  to  accomplish  this  end  the  central  survey  com- 
mittee recommend  to  the  respective  bodies  represented  in  the 
committee  the  formation  of  a  comprehensive  and  democratic 
body  to  study  the  problems  and  promote  the  adoption  of  the 
reforms  suggested  by  the  survey. 

(504) 


No.  4]  SURVEY  OF  A  TYPICAL  AMERICAN  CITY  31 

In  the  few  months  since  the  resolutions  were  adopted,  the 
central  committee  has  succeeded  in  getting  local  organizations 
of  one  kind  and  another  to  back  up  nearly  all  of  the  resolutions 
and  to  carry  on  a  definite  campaign  for  the  changes  advocated 
in  them.  Several  of  these  campaigns  have  already  succeeded 
and  the  success  of  others  is  believed  by  the  committee  to  be 
sure.     A  few  of  the  results  may  be  enumerated : 

The  mayor  has  publicly  promised  to  appoint  a  city-planning 
and  housing  commission.  In  the  meantime  a  volunteer  city- 
plan  commission  is  at  work.  A  committee  of  the  board  of 
education  and  a  volunteer  committee  are  at  work  gathering  in- 
formation from  all  over  the  country  as  to  effective  school  work 
for  foreigners.  The  police  are  thoroughly  enforcing  laws  regu- 
lating the  work  of  newsboys.  The  bureau  of  health  has  of  its 
own  accord  invited  a  trained  sanitarian  to  the  city  to  go  over 
its  work  and  to  make  suggestions,  and  those  who  have  been 
watching  the  milk  scores  state  that  they  have  shown  marked 
improvement  this  winter  over  a  year  ago.  A  federation  of  all 
betterment  agencies  in  the  city  is  being  formed  with  enthusiastic 
general  cooperation.  A  further  survey,  by  experts  from  the 
New  York  Bureau  of  Municipal  Research,  as  already  noted,  has 
been  made,  and  it  is  planned  that  other  investigations  shall  be 
carried  on  by  the  new  federation.  One  more  or  less  intangible 
but  nevertheless  very  real  and  important  result  is  the  awakened 
interest  of  citizens  in  civic  and  social  affairs  of  the  city. 

This  has  been  accomplished  at  a  total  money  outlay  amount- 
ing to  only  a  little  above  $1100 — the  investigations  costing 
about  $500  and  the  publicity  work  about  $600. 

(505) 


A  SANITARY  AND  HEALTH  SURVEY^ 

GEORGE  THOMAS   PALMER,  M.  D. 

Springfield,  Illinois 

ON  account  of  the  gratifying  results  in  public  health  work 
during  the  past  few  years,  and  on  account  of  the  popular 
interest  born  of  the  realization  of  our  ability  actually  to 
reduce  morbidity  and  increase  the  span  of  life,  it  is  easier  to 
bring  about  public  health  reform  in  an  American  municipality 
than  to  secure  any  other  kind  of  civic  improvement. 

Jealous  as  they  are  of  personal  liberty,  the  people  have  come 
to  recognize  that  they  must  submit  to  a  certain  amount  of 
inconvenience  and  even  to  scrutiny  and  investigation  of  their 
lives  and  personal  affairs  in  the  interest  of  the  health  of  the 
community.  The  business  man  who  is  not  in  sympathy  with 
many  social  reforms  appreciates  the  practical  utility  of  sanitary 
and  public  health  supervision. 

We  have  ceased  to  question  the  right  of  health  authorities  to 
extend  their  operations  even  far  beyond  the  letter  of  the  law, 
while  opposition  to  private  agencies  working  for  sanitary  better- 
ment, even  when  accompanied  by  wide  publicity  of  unenviable 
civic  conditions,  is  usually  inconsiderable.  The  intelligent  por- 
tion of  the  community  is  fully  capable  of  appreciating  the 
benefits  to  be  derived  from  such  activities. 

Hence,  the  sanitary  survey  may  often  be  employed  as  an 
entering  wedge  in  general  civic  betterment,  leading  naturally  to 
increased  interest  in  those  other  agencies  for  improvement  which 
extend  more  intimately  into  the  moral  and  social  lives  of  the 
people,  but  all  of  which  are  more  or  less  associated  with  public 
health  work. 

It  is  on  this  account,  in  my  opinion,  that  the  sanitary  survey 
is  the  most  important  phase  of  general  survey  work  just  at  this 
time,  when  municipalities  are  but  beginning  to  recognize  the 
value  of  systematic  study  of  their  underlying  conditions. 

^  Read  at  the  meeting  of  the  Academy  of  Political  Science,  April  i8,  191 2. 

(S06) 


A  SANITARY  AND  HEALTH  SURVEY  33 

Further,  I  am  impressed  by  the  fact  that  an  enormous  field 
is  opening  up  in  the  study  of  the  sanitary  and  other  civic  con- 
ditions in  the  smaller  cities  of  the  nation.  The  municipalities 
ranging  from  10,000  to  100,000  in  population  represent  an 
enormous  number  of  people  and  present  civic  problems  quite 
as  definite,  if  not  so  extensive,  as  those  to  be  found  in  any  of 
the  larger  cities.  And  yet  the  civic  student  may  find  in  almost 
any  of  the  hundreds  of  smaller  American  cities  an  absolutely 
virgin  field  which  so  far  has  been  shamefully  neglected. 

I  feel  that  I  should  have  no  claim  upon  your  attention  this 
afternoon,  that  I  should  not  be  here  to  present  a  plan  of  survey, 
except  on  account  of  an  experience  which,  it  seems  to  me, 
should  have  been  looked  upon  as  commonplace  enough,  but 
which  appears  to  have  been  regarded  as  somewhat  unusual. 

This  experience  was  the  study  of  the  sanitary  conditions  of  a 
city  of  from  50,000  to  60,000  population  and  the  attainment  of 
fairly  satisfactory  results  without  the  expenditure  of  money. 
Before  offering  to  you  a  definite  pi'  n  of  sanitary  survey,  I  feel 
that  it  may  be  worth  while  to  describe  that  simple  investigation, 
the  methods  employed  and  the  results  attained. 

I  certainly  have  no  intention  here  and  in  the  presence  of 
those  who  have  done  such  brilliant  things  along  those  lines,  of 
discussing  anything  of  the  theory  or  principles  of  survey  work. 
I  would  suggest,  however,  that  perhaps  the  very  brilliancy  of 
your  accomplishment  has  prevented  many  municipalities  from 
entering  upon  such  undertakings. 

With  the  Pittsburgh  survey  as  the  best  known  if  not  the  only 
generally  known  specimen  of  its  class,  many  persons  have  come 
to  look  upon  the  survey  as  a  gigantic,  technical  and  complicated 
institution,  demanding  a  large  amount  of  expert  skill  and  con- 
siderable financial  outlay  for  its  accompHshment. 

Wherever  I  have  found  intelHgent  city  officials  and  citizens 
interested  in  civic  betterment,  I  have  found  an  earnest  desire 
for  more  thorough  knowledge  and  understanding  of  existing 
civic  conditions ;  but  a  conviction  that  the  survey  is  entirely 
beyond  the  reach  of  the  average  municipality. 

In  fact,  at  the  time  we  undertook  the  sanitary  study  of 
Springfield,  if  someone  had  suggested  such  a  thing  as  a  "  sani- 

(507) 


34  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.11 

tary  survey,"  I  should  have  replied  that  we  were  not  in  a  posi- 
tion financially  or  otherwise  for  such  an  ambitious  undertaking. 

As  it  was,  we  simply  started  out  in  Springfield  to  ascertain 
certain  definite  facts,  and  we  had  not  the  faintest  idea  how  far 
or  where  our  studies  would  carry  us.  We  knew  that  the  city 
had  a  higher  typhoid-fever  mortality  than  other  cities  of  like 
size  and  similarly  situated.  We  knew  that  we  had  houses  and 
tenements  which  served  as  centers  of  infection  of  tuberculosis 
and  other  diseases.  We  realized  that  our  infant  mortality  was 
too  high.  We  started  out  simply  with  the  purpose  of  ascertain- 
ing the  causes  of  our  undue  morbidity  and  mortality  that  we 
might  be  enabled  to  take  intelligent  steps  to  decrease  sickness 
and  lower  our  death  rate. 

It  was  not  until  our  work  was  completed  that  we  realized  that 
we  had  done  anything  which  could  be  dignified  by  the  term 
**  sanitary  survey."  I  cite  this  fact  because  I  feel  that  there 
ought  to  be  something  done  to  change  the  general  conception 
of  the  term  "  survey  "  and  because  I  am  convinced  that  we 
must  reach  a  clearer  definition  of  the  term  before  many  cities 
will  undertake  it. 

I  am  also  impressed  with  the  belief  that  when  a  city  sets  out 
to  learn  definite  things  about  itself  and  for  a  definite  purpose, 
the  results  will  be  more  satisfactory  than  when  an  attempt  is 
made  merely  to  apply  a  plan  of  study  for  no  better  reason  than 
that  other  cities  have  done  the  same  thing.  That  is,  the  desire 
for  knowledge  without  the  plan  will  come  nearer  landing  us 
somewhere  than  the  plan,  however  perfect,  without  the  under- 
lying intelligent  desire  for  knowledge. 

In  the  vaults  of  the  city  hall  we  recently  unearthed  several 
massive  volumes,  the  results  of  a  sanitary  survey  carried  out  in 
1885  on  a  plan  suggested  by  Dr.  John  H.  Rauch,  then  secretary 
of  the  Illinois  state  board  of  health.  The  city  council  appro- 
priated $1,000  for  the  purpose  and  the  work  was  carried  out 
with  most  minute  detail.  The  net  result  of  this  painstaking 
application  of  a  survey  plan  consists  of  these  big,  clumsy 
volumes,  dusty,  moth-eaten  and  stowed  away  in  a  vault.  In 
fact,  when  our  work  was  done  in  19 10,  no  one  recalled  that  a 
sanitary  survey  of  the  city  had  ever  been  carried  out.     This  is 

(508) 


No.  4]  A  SANITARY  AMD  HEALTH  SURVEY  35 

merely  an  example  of  a  city  going  through  the  motions  and 
carrying  out  a  plan  suggested  by  others,  but  without  a  desire 
for  specific  results. 

In  19 10  we  awoke  to  the  fact  that  Springfield  had  a  typhoid- 
fever  mortality  of  something  over  40  per  100,000  of  popula- 
tion. This  mortality  had  been  as  high  as  85  per  100,000  and 
the  last  year  recorded  showed  a  mortahty  of  52.  That  was 
twice  as  high  as  it  should  have  been.  Half  of  our  deaths  from 
this  disease  were  apparently  unnecessary. 

Four  million  dollars  had  been  expended  by  the  city  for  water 
works  and  sewer  system,  and  the  mains  extended  to  all  sections 
of  the  town.  We  made  repeated  analyses  of  the  city  water,  ex- 
tending over  a  long  period  of  time,  and  found  that  the  public 
supply  was  always  safe  for  domestic  use.  We  had  to  go  further 
to  locate  the  cause  of  our  excessive  typhoid-fever  mortality. 
Analyses  were  made  of  150  samples  from  supposedly  good 
wells.  All  but  three  were  found  to  be  dangerously  polluted. 
Then  the  question  arose  as  to  the  extent  to  which  wells  were 
used  in  the  city  and  the  cause  of  well  pollution.  On  these 
points,  as  is  true  in  practically  every  other  city  in  the  United 
States  where  wells  are  used,  reliable  information  was  entirely 
unobtainable. 

There  was  but  one  thing  left  to  do  and  that  was  to  have  the 
four  underpaid,  untrained  but  enthusiastic  inspectors  of  the 
health  department  visit  each  of  the  9,000  homes  spread  out 
over  the  i  ,600  blocks  of  the  city  to  locate  every  well  and  vault 
and  ascertain  the  general  sanitary  conditions  of  all  premises. 
It  required  two  months  to  cover  the  city,  the  work  being  done 
in  addition  to  the  rather  exacting  routine  duties  of  the  depart- 
ment.    The  results  plainly  told  the  story  of  our  typhoid  fever. 

The  9,000  homes  of  the  city  had  6,000  shallow  wells,  the 
pollution  of  which  was  guaranteed  by  7,000  privy  vaults.  There 
were  6,000  polluted  wells  in  the  city,  and  the  water  mains  and 
sewers  were  convenient  to  5,000  of  the  premises  that  maintained 
them.  That  is,  the  use  of  5,000  of  the  6,000  polluted  wells  in 
the  city  was  entirely  unnecessary.  From  a  sanitary  standpoint 
the  city's  expenditure  of  $4,000,000  was  wasted. 

I   should   make   this  statement  about  my  home  town  with 

•   (509) 


36  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.  II 

reluctance  were  it  not  that  Mr.  Hiram  Messenger  has  advised 
me,  after  studying  the  typhoid  conditions  of  over  thirty  cities  of 
from  40,000  to  100,000  people,  that  Springfield  is  now  the  only 
one  in  which  he  could  obtain  accurate  data  as  to  wells  and  well 
pollution. 

The  results  of  our  investigation  were  not  bound  in  red  morocco 
and  filed  away  to  decay,  nor  were  they  hopelessly  buried  in 
dreary  and  unread  reports.  We  prepared  a  large  map  of  the 
city,  large  enough  to  show  each  house  by  number  and  the  gross 
sanitary  conditions  of  all  premises.  Each  unsanitary  lot  was 
shown  in  red  and  every  well,  vault,  sewer,  water  main,  vacant 
lot,  business  property  and  public  building  was  indicated  by 
symbol  or  color. 

We  knew  the  facts ;  but  we  had  to  demonstrate  them  to  get 
results.  The  map  was  shown  at  a  luncheon  to  three  hundred 
members  of  the  chamber  of  commerce,  with  a  talk  on  "  The 
Truth  About  Springfield."  The  business  men  endorsed  our 
work  and  the  newspapers  gave  the  facts  wide  publicity.  Next 
the  map  was  hung  in  the  council  chamber  and  the  members  of 
the  city  council  were  shown  why  we  should  have  ordinances 
compelling  property  holders  to  connect  their  property  with 
sewers  and  water  mains.  The  ordinances  were  passed  in  three 
weeks,  although  we  had  vainly  sought  to  secure  such  ordinances 
for  over  two  years. 

Then  another  interesting  thing  developed.  Protest  on  the 
part  of  the  business  men  gave  way  to  serious  consideration. 
The  work  had  gone  too  far  to  be  stopped  and  it  became  the 
part  of  wisdom  to  fall  in  line  with  it.  Real-estate  men  adver- 
tised their  property  on  its  sanitary  merits  and  money  became 
harder  to  borrow  on  unsanitary  property.  For  the  first  time  in 
the  community,  sanitation  took  on  a  commercial  value. 

But  the  Springfield  sanitary  survey — if  you  choose  to  dignify 
it  by  that  name — went  a  little  further  than  a  mere  census  of 
wells  and  vaults.  During  the  house-to-house  canvass  the  in- 
spectors made  notes  of  all  unsanitary  conditions  and  all  nuisances 
and  these  were  ordered  remedied  and  abated. 

They  also  noted  all  tenements  and  bad  housing  conditions 
and   the   data  furnished  by  them  along  this  line   afforded  the 

(510) 


No.  4]  A  SANITARY  AND  HEALTH  SURVEY  37 

basis  for  the  housing  investigations  we  have  since  carried  on. 
We  have  studied,  charted  out  and  photographed  the  worst  con- 
ditions in  the  city  and  we  are  now  ready  to  do  our  part  in  con- 
vincing the  IlHnois  General  Assembly  that  there  are  slums  in 
the  smaller  cities  and  that  there  is  a  crying  need  for  good  state 
housing  laws. 

In  this  housing  investigation  we  took  a  tuberculosis  census  of 
the  worst  tenements  and  fumigated  and  disinfected  as  far  as 
possible.  We  succeeded  in  improving  the  conditions  of  the 
worst  tenements ;  but  lack  of  state  laws  made  satisfactory  action 
impossible. 

As  I  have  stated,  we  were  making  this  investigation  entirely 
without  a  plan  or  system.  Each  undertaking  when  completed 
had  pointed  out  something  else  that  required  attention,  and  at 
this  juncture  we  found  a  new  force  urging  us  on.  That  was  an 
aroused  public  interest.  The  better  element  of  the  people  were 
watching  to  see  what  we  would  do  next  and  the  four  daily  news- 
papers of  the  city  backed  up  our  work  and  featured  everything 
that  was  undertaken.  This  aroused  interest  was  sufficient  to 
hush  all  opposition. 

We  were  now  ready  to  consider  our  infant  mortality.  Our 
first  effort  was  in  the  direction  of  an  honest  milk,  containing  a 
reasonable  butter  fat  and  total  solids  and  free  from  preservatives, 
We  recognized,  however,  that  this  was  a  commercial  rather  than 
a  public  health  proposition. 

We  realized  that  "  the  amount  of  manure  a  milk  contains  is 
more  important  than  the  amount  of  butter  fat"  and  we  deter- 
mined to  visit  and  inspect  all  of  the  dairies  supplying  milk  to 
the  city.  In  this  tour  of  inspection  we  attempted  to  teach  the 
dairymen  and  farmers  the  prerequisites  of  pure  and  clean  milk ; 
but  we  warned  all  of  them  that  inspections  would  be  made  from 
time  to  time  and  that  the  condition  of  all  dairies  would  be  made 
a  matter  of  public  record  open  to  milk  consumers. 

This  investigation  of  dairies  was  followed  by  inspection  of 
restaurants  and  bakeries,  the  details  of  which  cannot  interest 
you  here.     The  results,  however,  were  gratifying  to  us. 

We  are  now  engaged  upon  an  investigation  of  garbage  collec- 
tion and  disposal,  studying  our  own  conditions  and  the  methods 

(511) 


38  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.11 

of  other  cities.  We  are  trying  to  solve  what  I  am  inclined  to 
regard  as  the  livest  public  health  problem  of  American  munici- 
palities— a  problem,  incidentally,  which  is  not  yet  solved  ideally 
by  even  the  largest  of  cities. 

The  Springfield  sanitary  survey  is  not  complete,  nor  will  it 
be  for  several  years  to  come.  We  are  studying  the  town  part 
by  part  and  we  are  preserving  all  of  our  data  in  the  hope  that 
we  may  be  able  some  day  to  show  a  complete  sanitary  survey 
of  a  smaller  city.  But  every  step  is  being  taken  with  a  definite 
plan  in  view.  We  have  to  produce  results,  and  results  that  we 
can  show  the  people. 

The  people,  as  a  rule,  will  give  active  cooperation  to  work  of 
this  kind.  They  will  be  tolerant  of  criticism  of  local  conditions. 
But  after  a  while  they  will  meet  you  with  the  essentially  practi- 
cal and  entirely  proper  demand,  "  Now  that  you  have  given  us 
all  this  undesirable  publicity,  what  have  you  accomplished  ?  " 
Incidentally,  they  are  not  to  be  satisfied  with  a  story  of  '*  inte- 
resting data."  The  only  way  you  can  safely  use  a  town  as 
clinical  material  is  to  cure  its  sores. 

For  twelve  years  the  average  mortality  from  typhoid  fever  in 
Springfield  had  been  something  over  40  per  100,000  popula- 
tion. In  1 9 10,  the  year  our  investigation  was  undertaken,  it 
was  52.  In  191 1,  the  year  after  our  agitation  of  polluted  wells 
and  the  passage  of  sanitary  ordinances,  our  typhoid  mortality 
was  in  the  twenties.  The  record  of  one  year  is  not  conclusive. 
Such  a  result  immediately  following  sanitary  agitation,  however, 
is  suggestive  and  encouraging. 

In  1909,  sixty-eight  infants  died  from  summer  diarrhea;  in 
1910,  even  after  we  had  a  good  commercial  milk  supply,  there 
were  sixty-four  deaths.  In  191 1,  after  our  dairy  inspections, 
there  were  forty-one  deaths.  This  may  be  coincidence,  but  it 
is  suggestive. 

My  only  excuse  for  burdening  you  with  the  details  of  our 
work  in  a  small  mid-western  town  is  to  make  you  realize  that 
the  small  town  has  real  sanitary  and  public  health  problems 
unappreciated  by  the  people,  to  demonstrate  that  reasonably 
good  results  may  be  attained  without  an  elaborate  plan  and 
without  any  considerable  expenditure  of  money.  The  same 
excuse  will  justify  this  additional  detail. 

(512) 


No.  4]  A  SANITARY  AND  HEALTH  SURVEY  39 

The  collection  of  data  in  our  work  was  entrusted  to  four  in- 
spectors, already  overworked,  and  receiving  $60  per  month — 
men  entirely  without  sanitary  training  and  three  of  them  with 
little  more  than  ward-school  education.  They  have  served  as 
sanitary  inspectors,  dairy  inspectors,  housing  inspectors,  as  con- 
ditions required,  their  only  instruction  being  such  as  we  could 
give  them ;  but  each  man  being  fully  informed  as  to  what  we 
were  trying  to  do  and  why. 

In  addition  to  the  salaries  of  these  inspectors,  which  had 
been  paid  from  time  immemorial,  the  total  cost  of  the  survey 
and  the  sanitary  map  to  the  city  of  Springfield  was  less  than 
$100. 

There  is  but  one  other  thought  in  connection  with  our  sani- 
tary study.  We  were  after  a  direct  result,  the  reduction  of 
morbidity  and  mortality.  We  are  encouraged  to  believe  that 
we  have  accomplished  at  least  enough  to  justify  the  effort.  But 
we  now  feel  that  we  see  other  results  more  gratifying  and  far- 
reaching  than  we  had  anticipated. 

Our  work  had  been  accompanied  by  unrestrained  publicity. 
We  accentuated  the  civic  needs  of  the  city  in  every  possible 
way  and  we  feel  that  we  perhaps  stimulated  others  to  activity  in 
their  individual  lines.  We  had  demonstrated,  perhaps,  that 
civic  improvement  was  not  so  difficult  to  bring  about  as  had 
been  generally  believed  and  we  had  possibly  stimulated  a  general 
spirit  of  investigation. 

At  any  rate,  whether  our  sanitary  investigations  had  anything 
to  do  with  it  or  not,  a  great  many  things  have  come  about  dur- 
ing the  past  two  years.  A  detention  home  has  removed  children 
from  the  jail  and  has  simplified  the  work  of  an  excellent  trained 
probation  officer.  A  tuberculosis  association  of  i  ,000  members 
operates  a  dispensary  and  employs  visiting  nurses.  Medical 
inspection  of  school  children  is  established.  The  almshouse  of 
Sangamon  County  is  being  thoroughly  studied  from  a  medical 
and  sociological  standpoint  and  provision  is  being  made  for 
county  care  of  indigent  consumptives.  The  dispensing  of 
county  charity  has  been  placed  in  better  hands.  But  most 
important,  the  people  are  awakened  to  the  necessity  of  a  thor- 
ough knowledge  of  local  conditions,  and  a  broad  and  sweeping 

(SU) 


40  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK  [Vol.  II 

survey  of  the  city — a  real  survey  this  time — is  being  considered 
and  is  practically  assured. 

The  experience  in  Springfield,  the  gratifying  results  attained 
without  the  employment  of  expert  skill,  has  made  me  beheve 
that  similar  results  may  be  attained  by  other  cities  either 
through  the  agency  of  their  health  departments  or  through  the 
activities  of  private  agencies.  The  survey  in  Springfield  was 
carried  out  without  a  definite  plan  of  action,  and  the  following 
scheme  of  study  was  the  result  rather  than  the  foundation  of 
the  work. 

Unquestionably  a  well  defined  plan  will  serve  to  simplify  the 
survey,  will  render  it  more  systematic  and  will  prevent  ineffective 
labor  in  various  directions.  The  one  submitted  here  is  little 
more  than  a  skeleton  in  the  elaboration  of  which  we  are  now 
engaged.  It  may  serve  in  its  present  form,  however,  to  suggest 
a  rather  simple  and  consecutive  line  of  action  which  will  prove 
helpful  to  those  about  to  engage  in  work  of  the  kind. 

SCHEME  OF  A  SANITARY  SURVEY 

I.  STUDY  OF  MORBIDITY  AND  MORTALITY  FROM  COMMUNI- 
CABLE  DISEASES 

No  intelligent  work  to  reduce  morbidity  and  mortality  can  be 
undertaken  until  we  know  the  present  morbidity  and  mortality 
and  the  averages  for  several  years  past. 

In  most  instances  morbidity  from  communicable  diseases 
may  be  ascertained  from  the  records  of  the  local  health  depart- 
ment. Such  records,  however,  are  frequently  faulty  and  in- 
complete. Under  such  circumstances,  the  present  morbidity 
may  generally  be  estimated  after  interviewing  all  members  of 
the  local  medical  profession.  Morbidity  records  for  the  past 
will  be  unattainable. 

Mortuary  records  for  many  years  past  should  be  obtained 
from  the  local  health  department.  If  the  municipality  has  no 
registration  of  deaths,  the  desired  data  can  usually  be  obtained 
from  the  state  registrar  of  vital  statistics  or  from  the  state  board 
of  health. 

After  securing  the  present  and  past  average  mortality  from 
preventable   diseases,  these  should   be  compared   with   similar 

(514) 


No.  4]  1 A  SANITARY  AND  HEALTH  SURVEY  41 

figures  from^otherjmunicipalities  as  near  the  size  and  existing 
under  as  nearly  the  same  conditions  as  possible.  Much  valuable 
information  for  purposes  of  comparison  may  be  obtained  from 
the  last  reports  of  the  United  States  Census  Office  dealing  with 
mortalityj^statistics.  It  is  only  by  such  comparison  of  figures  that 
we  can  determine  whether  the  local  mortality  is  higher  than  it 
should  be. 

1.  Diseases  to  be  Studied — (a)  Typhoid   fever;    (b)  tubercu- 

losis; (c)  malaria;  (d)  yellow  fever;  (e)  small-pox; 
(f)  chicken-pox;  (g)  diphtheria;  (h)  scarlet  fever; 
(i)  measles ;  (j)  whooping  cough  ;  (k)  industrial  diseases 
peculiar  to  the  community;  (1)  summer  diarrhea  of  in- 
fants ;  (m)  accidental  deaths. 

2.  Sources    of  Information — Local    health    department;    state 

health  department;  local  physicians;  reports  of  United 
States  Census  Bureau. 
Notes — Seek  out  the  cause  for  every  decided  deviation  from 
the  normal  or  average  mortality.  Such  deviations  are  at 
times  due  to  outside  influences  bearing  in  no  way  upon 
local  sanitary  conditions. 

Ascertain  total  mortuary  figures.  Do  not  accept  death 
estimates  in  percentages.  One  death  in  the  community 
may  affect  the  rate  100  per  cent. 

II.      WATER  SUPPLY  AND  SEWAGE  DISPOSAL 

(Special  relation  to  typhoid  fever.) 
I .  Source  of  Municipal  Water  Supply 

(a)  Results  of  last  analyses. 

A  single  analysis  should  not  be  accepted  as  final. 
Conditions  in  an  unprotected  supply  often  change 
from  season  to  season. 

(b)  Possible  pollution  of  the  public  supply  at  source. 

Information  should  be  obtained  from  the  mu- 
nicipal water  company,  the  local  water  depart- 
ment or  the  local  health  department.  It  would 
be  well  to  inspect  personally  the  source  of  supply. 
Note — If  analyses   have   not  been  made,  samples  should  be 

(515) 


42  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.11 

secured  and  sent  to  laboratories  for  analysis.  In  several 
states,  the  state  water  survey,  the  state  university  or  other 
state  departments  will  make  analyses  of  local  water  supplies 
without  charge.  Reliance  should  not  be  placed  on  the 
so-called  "  simple  water  tests." 

2.  Private  Wells 

(a)  Extent  to  which  they  are  used.     (If  used  at  all,  it  will 

be  impossible  to  ascertain  the  extent  without  a 
house-to-house  canvass.  The  same  is  true  with 
privy  vaults.     See  below.) 

(b)  Analysis  of  water  from  presumably  good  wells. 

It  is  never  worth  while  to  make  analyses  of  water 
from  wells  which  are  obviously  polluted. 

3.  Privy  Vaults  (Important  on  account  of  pollution  of  wells) 

(a)  Extent  to  which  used. 

(b)  Enforcement  of  ordinances  or  regulations  as  to  the 

distance  of  vaults  from  wells  or  cisterns. 

(c)  General  construction  of  vaults  to  prevent  soil  pollution. 

4.  Sewer  System 

(a)  Extent  throughout  the  city. 

Location  of  those  sections  not  reached  by  sewer. 

(b)  Location  of  outlets  of  sewers. 

(i)    Danger  to  people  of  this  community, 
(ii)   Danger  to  other  municipalities. 

(c)  Extent  to  which  sewers  are  used  by  those  to  whom 

they  are  available.  / 

Note — Information  as  to  the  sewer  system  a|id  the  sewer  out- 
lets may  be  obtained  from  the  city  engineer  or  the  depart- 
ment of  public  works.  The  extent  to  which  sewers  are 
used  by  those  to  whom  they  are  available  can  often  be 
determined  only  by  house-to-house  canvass. 

5 .  Methods  of  Sewage  Disposal 

(a)  Is   sewage   ''treated"  before  discharge   or  is   it  dis- 

charged in  its  raw  state?  If  treated,  what  is  the 
method  of  treatment? 

(b)  Present  and  future  dangers  of  the  system  employed. 

(516) 


No.  4]  A  SANITARY  AND  HEALTH  SURVEY  43 

6.  Pollution  of  Soil 

(a)  By  privy  vaults. 

(b)  By  polluted  ponds  or  streams  receiving  sewage. 

(c)  By  sewers  with  loose  joints. 

(d)  By  tile  or  surface  drains.     Private  sewers. 

III.      ALLEYS 

(Special  relation  to  fly-borne  diseases;  nuisances  from  de- 
composition of  organic  waste  matter;  dust  and  mosquitoes.) 
Remember  that,  as  a  general  principle,  the  alley  belongs 
to  the  municipality  and  that  it  is  unlawful  to  place  ashes, 
manure,  garbage  or  any  other  material  therein. 

1.  Ashes 

(a)  Extent  to  which  they  are  placed  in  alleys.     Loose  or 

in  containers. 

(b)  Disposal  of  ashes.  » 

2.  Manure  (breeding  place  for  flies) 

(a)  Extent  to  which  it  is  placed  in  alleys. 

(b)  Loose  or  in  tight,  screened  boxes. 

(c)  Frequency  with  which  it  is  removed. 

To  guarantee  against  the  breeding  of  flies,  manure 
should  be  removed  at  least  once  a  week  from 
alleys  and  premises. 
(c)   Disposal  of  manure. 

,  (i)     Dumps  (sources  of  danger), 
(ii)    Burned, 
(iii)  Distribution  to  farmers  for  fertilizer. 

In  some  cities  this  is  carried  out  system- 
atically and  satisfactorily. 

3.  Garbage  (nuisance  and  flies) 

Presence  in  alleys  (see  Section  IV) 

4.  Alley  Grade 

Drainage  into  yards. 

Low  places  breeding-ground  of  mosquito. 

Permitting  the  use  of  alleys  for  even  the  tem- 
porar>^  disposal  of  ashes  often  results  in  raising 
the  grade  of  the  alley  above  that  of  surrounding 
(S17) 


44  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK  [Vol.  II 

property,  causing  the  water  to  drain  into  nearby- 
yards. 

Note — In  the  house-to-house  canvass  proposed  in  this  plan,  all 
bad  alley  conditions  should  be  noted  and  reported  to  the 
health  department  or  to  the  department  of  streets  and 
alleys. 

IV.     GARBAGE   DISPOSAL 

("  The  livest  public  health  problem  of  American  munici- 
palities.") 

(Special  relation  to  fly-borne  diseases,  soil  pollution. 
Dumps  bear  a  close  relation  to  contagious  diseases.) 

1 .  Handling  Garbage  at  Home 

(a)  Are  special  cans  or  containers  required  ? 

(b)  Destroying  garbage  at  home. 

(i)     To  what  extent  practised  ? 
(ii)    Method  employed. 

(c)  Separation  of  refuse  into  garbage,  ashes  and  rubbish. 

(d)  Wrapping  garbage  in  paper  (dry  garbage). 

2 .  Collection  of  Garbage 

(a)   Public  or  private  collection. 

(i)     Cost  to  householder. 

(ii)    Frequency  of  collection. 

(iii)  Specially  constructed  garbage  wagons. 

(iv)  Regulations  concerning  collection. 

3 .  Disposal  of  Garbage 

(a)   Dumps. 

(i)     Location  of  dumps. 

(ii)    Character  of  waste  taken  to  dumps. 

(iii)  Policing  dumps. 
Notes — The   municipality  has   no   more   right    to   permit  the 
dumping  of  decomposable  waste  near  to  the  home  of  a 
citizen  than  it  has  to  empty  its  sewers  near  to  the  home  of 
a  citizen. 

The  recovery  of  articles  from  the  dumps,  as  is  often  done 
by  the  poor,  is  a  common  means  of  carrying  contagious 
diseases  into  those  homes  in  which  such  diseases  are  most 

(5i8) 


No.  4]  A  SANITARY  AND  HEALTH  SURVEY  45 

difficult  to  locate  and  control.  Much  of  the  most  usable 
salvage  in  a  city's  waste  has  been  discarded  on  account  of 
contagious  and  infectious  disease  in  the  home. 

(b)  Feeding  garbage. 

(i)    Distributing  garbage  to  farmers, 
(ii)  Municipal  hog-feeding. 

Not  a  sanitary  or  practicable  plan  in  the 

ordinary  climate. 

(c)  Incineration. 

(i)     Incineration  of  garbage  alone. 

(ii)    Incineration  of  all  waste. 

(iii)  Incineration  with  artificial  fuel. 

(iv)  Burning   garbage  and  other  waste  with  its 

own  combustible  material. 

Notes — The  ideal  method  of  refuse  disposal  is  incineration  of 

all  kinds  of  waste — garbage,  manure,  ashes  and  rubbish. 

In  this  way  we  avoid  the  necessity  of  dumps  of  any  kind 

in  the  community. 

Ideal  incineration  implies  the  utilization  of  the  fuel  content 
of  the  refuse  itself.  In  this  way  sufficient  heat  may  be 
obtained  to  produce  steam  for  power  in  municipal  plants. 

(d)  Reduction  of  garbage. 

(i)     By  public  or  private  company, 
(ii)    Materials  regained  from  garbage, 
(iii)  Revenues  to  the  city  from  reduction. 
(iv)  Cost  to  the  city. 

V.      STAGNANT   POOLS   AND    OPEN   CISTERNS 
(Special  relation  to  the  mosquito  and  to  malaria  and  yellow 
fever.     More  important  in  southern  cities.) 

(a)  Location  of  stagnant  ponds  and  pools. 

(b)  Best  means  of  draining  same. 

(c)  Screening  cisterns. 

VI.     HOUSING 
(Special  relation  to  tuberculosis,  contagious  diseases,  im- 
morality, physical  inefficiency,  deficient  education,  crime  and 

children). 

(519) 


46  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK  [Vol.  II 

1 .  General  Survey  of  Housing 

In  the  house-to-house  survey,  all  bad  housing  conditions 
should  be  located  and  noted  for  future  investigation. 

2.  Intensive  Study  of  Housing 

The  study  of  individual  houses  and  blocks  indicated  in  the 
general  housing  study  as  being  undesirable. 

3 .  Yard  space 

(a)   Percentage  of  lot  unoccupied  by  buildings, 
(i)     Grass  and  trees, 
(ii)    Paved. 

(iii)  Drainage  and  sanitary  conditions, 
(iv)  Uses  of  yard  space. 

4.  Light  (A  study  of  each  room  in  undesirable  buildings  used 

for  dwelling  purposes) 

(a)  Outside  rooms. 

(b)  Light  wells. 

(c)  Sky  lights. 

(d)  Dark  rooms  and  uses  of  dark  rooms. 

5.  Ventilation  (Studied   according  to  above  outlined  scheme 

for  light) 

6.  Business  Houses 

Relationship  of  dwellings  or  tenements  to  saloons,  immoral 
resorts,  business  houses  and  industries.  Dwellings  over 
stables. 

7.  Home  Industries 

8.  Congestion 

(a)  Number  of  inmates. 

(b)  Room  congestion. 

(c)  Roomers,  boarders,  homes  and  light  housekeeping. 

9.  Water  Supply 

(a)  Source. 

(b)  Convenience  to  living  quarters. 

10.  Sewage 

1 1 .  Condition  of  Plumbing 

This  study  should  include  observation  of  plumbing  condi- 
tions and  facilities  for  ordinary  cleanliness. 

(520) 


No.  4]  A  SANITARY  AND  HEALTH  SURVEY  47 

1 2 .  Disposal  of  Garbage  and  Waste 

1 3 .  Nationality  and  National  Traits 

14.  Children 

Number  of  children  in  each  dwelling,  with  note  as  to  the 
manner  in  which  they  live,  association  with  immorality, 
sanitary  conditions,  etc. 

1 5 .  General  Sanitation 

16.  Transient  or  Permanent  Residents 

Notes — In  collecting  housing  data  the  name  of  the  landlord 
and  agent  of  each  piece  of  property  should  be  obtained. 
Each  dwelling,  building  or  block  studied  should  be  mapped 
or  platted  out. 
Photographs  should  be  obtained  of  the  worst  conditions. 

VII.      RESTAURANTS,  BAKERIES,  BUTCHER   SHOPS 
I .  Sanitary  Conditions 

(a)  Cleanliness. 

(b)  Plumbing. 

(i)    Condition. 

(ii)  Location  in  relation  to  foodstuffs. 

(c)  Living  quarters  near  to  place  of  food  handling. 

(d)  Protection  from  flies. 

(e)  Health  of  workers  in  foods. 

(f)  Spitting. 

(g)  Care  and  protection  of  food  supplies. 

VIII.      MILK  SUPPLY 

(Special  relation  to  infant  mortality,  tuberculosis  and  con- 
tagious diseases.) 
I.   Chemical  Content  (Butter  fats  and  total  solids) 

(a)  How  often  tested  by  local  authorities. 

(b)  Collection    from    homes    of   consumers    or    on    open 

market  and  testing  privately. 

(c)  Freedom  from  preservatives. 

A  milk  containing  the  legal  amount  of  fats  and 
solids  and  free  from  preservatives  is  merely  a 
good  commercial  milk.  The  greatest  importance 
attaches  to  the  amount  of  filth  the  milk  contains. 
(521) 


48  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK  [Vol.11 

2.  Dairy  Inspection 

(a)  Health  and  condition  of  cows. 

(i)     General  health, 
(ii)   TubercuHn  testing, 
(iii)  CleanHness. 
(iv)  Feed. 

(b)  Condition  and  construction  of  barns. 

(c)  Condition  and  cleanliness  of  milk  houses. 

(d)  Conditions  and  method  of  shipping. 

(i)     Cleansing  cans. 

(ii)    Rapid  reduction  of  temperature. 

(iii)  Pasteurization. 

(e)  Water  supply. 

3.  Bottling 

(a)  Sterilization  of  bottles. 

(b)  Hand  or  machine  botthng. 

(c)  Place  of  bottling. 

(i)     At  the  farm  (good). 

(ii)    At  the  milk  depot  (unsatisfactory). 

(iii)  In  the  milk  wagon  (intolerable). 

4.  Health  of  Employes 

Contagious  diseases  are  often  transmitted  by  the  milk  sup- 
ply. Scarlet  fever  and  diphtheria  have  been  traced  back 
to  this  disease  among  milk  handlers  or  their  families. 

5.  Milk  Depots 

Methods  of  handling  milk  and  general  sanitary  conditions. 

6.  Infant  Mortality 

Ascertain  the  source  of  milk  supply  in  all  cases  where 
there  has  been  infant  mortality  in  the  family. 

IX.      METHODS   OF  STUDY 

I.  House-to-House  Canvass 

This  is  the  foundation  of  every  satisfactory  sanitary  survey. 
Study  each  house  and  yard  and  note  all  wells,  privy  vaults 
and  the  general  sanitary  conditions.  Information  is  also 
gathered  during  this  house-to-house  canvass  upon  which  to 
base  the  future  investigation  of  water  supply  and  sewage ; 

(522) 


No.  4]  A  SANITARY  AND  HEALTH  SURVEY  49 

alleys;    garbage    disposal;    stagnant    pools    and    cisterns; 
housing;  restaurants  and  bakeries. 

2.  Sanitary  Map 

A  large  map  of  the  city  should  be  prepared  with  each  lot 
large  enough  to  show  house  number,  wells,  vaults  and  all 
gross  sanitary  conditions.  This  map  should  also  show  the 
paved  streets,  sewer  system  and  water  mains. 
The  making  of  the  map  teaches  a  great  deal  about  the  city 
as  a  whole  and  brings  together  the  accumulated  data  in  a 
form  which  can  be  shown  to  the  people  or  to  the  city 
officials. 

3.  Study  Water  Supply,  Sewers,  Topography,  etc. 

Study  of  the  data  in  the  office  of  the  city  engineer  and 
department  of  public  works. 

4.  Intensive  Study  of  the  Various  Subdivisions  of  Work 

(a)  Visit  all  dumps  and  garbage-disposal  plants. 

(b)  Study  all  housing  conditions  and  plat  out  all  blocks, 

houses  or  rooms  investigated. 

(c)  Inspect  all  dairies  supplying  milk  to  the  community, 

using  the  government  score  card  as  a  guide. 

(d)  Visit  and  inspect  all  restaurants,  bakeries,  etc. 

X.      STUDY  OF  EXISTING  LAWS  AND  ORDINANCES 

Study  the  state  laws  under  which  the  municipality  is  given 
its  right  of  public  health  control. 

Study  the  city  ordinances  to  see  what  improvements  can 
be  brought  about  by  merely  enforcing  existing  laws. 

XL      NEW  ORDINANCES 

Ascertain  what  faulty  conditions  will  require  new  ordinances 
to  bring  about  their  improvement. 

Study  ordinances  of  other  cities  which  are  bringing  about 
satisfactory  results  in  these  lines. 

XII.      STUDY  OF  EXISTING  HEALTH  DEPARTMENT 
(See  the  standards  of  public  health  efficiency  in  an  article 
by  the  writer,  *'  The  Inefficiency  of  Municipal  Health   De- 
partments," published  in  The  American  (7//;/,  August,  1911)* 

(523) 


50  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK 

1 .  Duties  of  the  Health  Department  under  the  Ordinances 

2.  What  Ordinances  are  not  Enforced?  (Ascertain  why). 

3 .  Study  of  Special  Functions  of  the  Department 

(a)  Water  analysis. 

(b)  Milk  inspection.  I 

(c)  Quarantine.  | 

(d)  Reports  of  communicable  diseases. 

(e)  Isolation  hospital. 

(f)  Abatement  of  nuisances. 

(g)  Registration  of  vital  statistics, 
(h)  Constructive  work. 

4.  Provisions  for  Efficient  Service 

(a)  Qualifications  of  health  ofificer. 

(b)  Salary  and  assistants. 

(c)  Reasonable  appropriations. 

(d)  Freedom  from  politics.     Civil  service. 

XIII.      METHODS    OF   PUBLICITY 

(a)  The  sanitary  map. 

(b)  Newspapers. 

(c)  Expositions  and  exhibits. 

(d)  Bulletins  and  circulars. 

(e)  Public  meetings. 

(f)  Churches. 

XIV.      DEALING   WITH    CITY   OFFICIALS 
Cooperation  if  possible. 

Meet  opposition  by  a  showing  of  fact  and  overcome  oppo- 
sition by  publicity. 

XV.      THE   SURVEY   STAFF 

(a)  A  competent  physician,  preferably  with  some  public 

health  training. 

(b)  A  public-spirited  and  competent  lawyer. 

(c)  Staff  of  paid  or  volunteer  inspectors  to  collect  data. 

(d)  A  practical  plumber,  or  better,  a  sanitary  engineer. 

(e)  Clerical  help  and  draftsman. 

(524) 


THE  RELATION  OF  A  NEIGHBORHOOD  SURVEY 
TO  SOCIAL  NEEDS  ^ 

BY   PAULINE   GOLDMARK 

Bureau  of  Social  Research,  Russell  Sage  Foundation 

THE  relation  of  a  social  survey  to  the  social  agencies  in  its 
territory  is  to  a  large  extent  a  test  and  index  of  its  use- 
fulness and  service  to  the  community.  After  an  inves- 
tigation has  been  made,  one  may  fairly  ask  the  question,  How 
does  the  new  knowledge  meet  the  social  needs  of  the  particular 
city  or  neighborhood  in  which  it  is  undertaken?  How  much 
does  it  contribute  toward  solving  the  practical  problems  of  the 
active  agents  within  the  district? 

It  is,  of  course,  true  that  in  the  new  quest  for  wider  knowl- 
edge, merely  descriptive  investigations  have  been  justified. 
Fuller  acquaintance  with  one's  particular  neighborhood,  a  closer 
knowledge  and  contact  with  one's  neighbor  have  been  of  dis- 
tinct service.  Such  studies  have  widened  the  outlook  for  the 
practical  workers  who  are  too  closely  attentive  to  their  own 
particular  tasks.  To  know  the  various  nationalities  represented 
in  any  district,  to  look  up  its  housing  conditions,  its  health  rec- 
ords, its  representative  industries,  and  all  the  descriptive  mate- 
rial that  gives  a  general  picture  of  the  neighborhood — all  this 
is  essential. 

But  in  the  first  stages  of  this  new  search,  are  we  not  inclined 
to  be  too  readily  satisfied  with  objective  facts  rather  than  going 
deeper  down  under  the  surface  to  reach  those  subtler  truths 
which  concern  the  whole  community?  It  is  surely  not  enough 
to  know  the  people  statistically,  to  count  their  numbers,  race, 
and  age  distribution,  and  to  note  their  mortality  records.  One 
must  also,  in  any  given  community,  take  note  of  the  predom- 
inating influences  that  are  affecting  life  for  good  or  ill.  What 
is  happening  to  your  community?  What  is  its  temper?  Is  it 
progressing  or  deteriorating?     What  is  the  younger  generation 

^  Read  at  the  meeting  of  the  Academy  of  Political  Science,  April  i8,  191 2. 

(525) 


52  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK  [Vol.  II 

doing  and  thinking  ?  What  are  all  the  social  causes  that  underlie 
these  phenomena? 

I  can  best  illustrate  my  point  by  referring  to  some  definite 
instances  with  which  I  have  become  acquainted  in  the  study  of 
a  single  neighborhood  in  New  York  city.  A  limited  area  was 
chosen  for  an  intensive  investigation  so  as  to  reduce  our  problem 
to  a  manageable  unit.  It  is  a  West  Side  district  which  lacks 
the  picturesqueness  of  the  immigrant  quarters  of  the  city.  We 
are  dealing  with  the  problems  not  of  newcomers  but  of  the 
second  and  third  generation  of  foreign  parentage — hitherto 
little  regarded.  Unlike  the  kaleidoscopic  shifting  of  nationali- 
ties on  the  East  Side,  where  the  newcomers  succeed  each  other 
with  amazing  speed,  where  Italians  and  Russians  have  dislodged 
the  earlier  groups  of  Irish  and  Germans,  this  population  on  the 
West  Side  is  stationary.  Here  is  one  of  the  few  spots  on  Man- 
hattan Island  where  the  population  has  not  increased  in  the  last 
decade.  The  bulk  of  the  community  is  Irish  and  German- 
American.  The  immigrant  groups  are  not  yet  conspicuous. 
The  problems  of  Americanization  and  amalgamation  therefore 
do  not  primarily  concern  such  a  neighborhood.  These  people 
are  American  citizens,  and  we  have  to  discover  a  fact  of  cardi- 
nal importance,  namely,  what  place  are  they  and  their  children 
taking  in  the  community?  In  other  words,  what  may  happen 
when  a  tenement-house  population  is  comparatively  stationary 
for  several  generations  ? 

This  district  of  ours  is  a  '*  back-set"  fron  the  main  current  of 
the  city's  life.  It  is  discouraged  and  apathetic.  The  bolder 
and  more  enterprising  spirits  are  attracted  to  the  more  thriving 
parts  of  the  city.  Here  there  are  no  signs  of  prosperity. 
Loafers  at  every  corner,  street  fights,  drunkenness  and  poverty 
are  the  obvious  features  of  the  neighborhood.  All  admit  that 
it  is  "  tough."  The  waterside  is  infested  with  lawless  thugs  and 
gangs  and  the  neighborhood  is  hardened  to  deeds  of  violence 
that  would  stir  any  other  community  to  action. 

In  such  an  environment  it  is  not  surprising  that  the  various 
social  agencies  should  share  in  the  general  discouragement. 
The  better  elements,  such  as  they  are,  do  not  show  on  the  sur- 
face.    This  district  has  never  known  great  prosperity.     The  in- 

(526) 


No.  4]  NEIGHBORHOOD  SURVEYS  53 

dustries,  which  have  since  moved  away,  first  attracted  its  people. 
"  Jerry  "  builders  put  up  cheap  tenements  of  a  poor  type  in  the 
70's  and  8o*s.  These  antiquated  old  houses,  with  their  window- 
less  rooms,  are  still  the  only  homes  for  the  workers.  Rents  are 
somewhat  lower  than  in  other  parts  of  the  city.  This  advantage 
and  the  prevailing  apathy  and  inertia  have  kept  the  people  here. 
Many  have  lived  here  during  their  whole  lifetime.  In  brief,  it 
is  a  deteriorating  rather  than  an  advancing  community. 

Such  then  is  our  district  at  first  sight.  If  the  social  survey  is 
to  be  helpful,  it  must  go  beneath  the  surface ;  it  must  show  the 
underlying  causes  which  have  produced  this  sinister  result. 
However  baffling  the  task,  we  must  provide  for  the  social  agen- 
cies which  are  doing  the  constructive  work  of  the  community  a 
knowledge  of  the  fundamental  facts  and  tendencies.  Thus  the 
study  of  the  industries,  for  instance,  must  embrace  the  far- 
reaching  results  of  employment.  It  is  not  enough  to  know  the 
industrial  establishments  and  the  immediate  conditions  of  work ; 
we  need  to  consider  other  elements.  Who,  for  instance,  com- 
pose the  bulk  of  the  working  force  ?  What  is  the  wage  scale 
and  the  chance  of  advancement?  Are  the  foreigners  under- 
bidding the  American  workmen,  and  are  the  latter  being  driven 
to  less  desirable  employments  ?  Are  the  industries  using  up  the 
young  and  vigorous  stock  and  crowding  out  the  prematurely 
old?  Are  there  industries  which  require  unemployment  and 
under-employment?  We  ought  to  examine  each  industry  to 
see  whether  it  is  leaving  its  workers  stranded  after  a  short  trade 
life  and  manufacturing  an  army  of  unemployables.  And  if  then 
employment  is  precarious  for  a  man  past  middle  life,  what  is  he 
driven  to?  What  forms  of  casual  labor  can  he  obtain?  Some 
estimate  must  eventually  be  made  of  the  social  waste  of  such  an 
industrial  system. 

These  suggestions  do  no  more  than  touch  the  question  of 
economic  pressure  and  its  significance  in  the  lives  of  the  wage- 
earners.  They  are  questions  of  prime  importance,  however, 
since  they  determine  the  earning  capacity  of  the  workers  and 
in  consequence  the  status  of  the  entire  family. 

For  the  social  agencies  of  any  community,  to  take  another 
instance,  there  is  no  more  important  task  at  the  present  moment 

(527) 


54  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.  II 

than  getting  the  right  sort  of  employment  for  boys  and  girls. 
In  place  of  the  present  haphazard  methods  of  beginning  work, 
the  survey  should  be  able  to  tell  what  are  the  really  good  occu- 
pations for  young  people  to  enter,  where  advancement  is  as- 
sured for  the  competent,  and  what  **  dead  end  "  occupations  are 
to  be  avoided. 

In  any  community  where  there  are  foreign  colonies,  a  totally 
different  range  of  problems  opens  up.  Segregated  from  the  life 
of  the  city,  and  separated  from  all  Americanizing  influences, 
their  activities  are  often  unknown  to  us.  Who  would  imagine, 
for  instance,  that  in  a  Slavic  colony  in  our  midst,  one  would 
find  the  government  of  a  despotic  master,  whose  control  is  ab- 
solute over  hundreds  of  adult  men?  To  these  immigrants  he 
is  the  sole  connection  with  the  American  world.  He  provides 
jobs,  and  takes  them  away  at  his  own  pleasure.  The  railroads 
know  him  and  rely  upon  him  to  provide  freight  handlers,  but 
the  community  know  nothing  of  the  exploitation  of  ignorant 
foreigners  going  on  at  their  very  doors. 

Clearly  one  of  the  most  important  socializing  agencies  in  any 
community  should  be  the  children's  court.  Our  survey  shows 
that  the  children's  court  in  Manhattan  urgently  needs  better 
investigations  on  which  to  base  court  action.  At  present  it 
cannot  even  take  advantage  of  the  information  about  families 
which  is  available  in  relief  and  church  records.  It  has  no  con- 
nection with  the  schools,  whereby  it  could  be  informed  about 
the  gangs  of  toughs  in  the  neighborhood,  and  about  the  ring- 
leaders who  lead  the  boys  of  the  block  into  trouble.  Often  the 
judge  is  forced  to  act  blindly,  since  he  receives  no  proper  re- 
port of  the  family  or  neighborhood  situation.  It  is  obvious 
that  the  work  of  the  court  could  be  greatly  strengthened  and 
improved  if  a  probation  officer  specially  appointed  to  work  in 
a  given  district  were  able  to  report  on  each  case  with  a  full 
knowledge  obtained  from  every  one  acquainted  with  the  family — 
for  instance,  from  school,  church,  relief  agency,  settlement  and 
club. 

The  present  system  of  indiscriminate  arrests,  which  often 
fails  to  bring  into  court  the  real  ringleader,  seems  so  unreason- 
able to  the  neighborhood  and  has  aroused  its  antagonism  so 

(528) 


No.  4]  NEIGHBORHOOD  SURVEYS  55 

often  that  the  influence  of  the  court  is  seriously  undermined. 
The  children's  court  in  New  York,  which  should  be  known  in 
the  community  as  a  friend  of  the  children,  is  unfortunately  con- 
sidered nothing  but  a  vague  authority  in  league  with  the  police, 
which  arrests  a  boy  for  playing  in  the  street  as  well  as  for  more 
serious  lawlessness.  Its  real  purpose  is  entirely  unintelligible  to 
the  neighborhood. 

The  practical  value  of  the  social  survey  for  any  district  can 
here  be  only  briefly  indicated.  Turning  on  the  light  and  getting 
at  the  facts  is  its  contribution.  It  should  give  the  diagnosis  of 
the  social  ills  and  direct  the  remedies  and  treatment  more  intel- 
ligently. Surely  there  is  no  better  way  to  rein vigo rate  the 
efforts  of  the  leaders  of  the  community  and  of  all  the  progressive 
forces  working  to  improve  conditions.  If  these  efforts  can  be 
well  directed  instead  of  working  in  the  dark  and  taking  the  path 
of  least  resistance,  a  first  step  will  be  gained.  But  the  survey 
should  perform  a  still  greater  service ;  through  its  new  insight 
it  should  stimulate  larger  and  more  constructive  movements  of 
social  betterment  than  have  ever  before  been  attempted.  It 
should  open  new  vistas  that  lead  us  out  of  the  narrow  and  local- 
ized life.  It  should  enlist  the  best  forces  in  the  community  to 
lighten  the  heavy  toll  of  human  suffering  which  poverty,  igno- 
rance and  neglect  now  exact  from  the  overburdened  workers. 

(529) 


STATISTICAL  METHODS  IN  SURVEY  WORK 

BY   ROBERT   EMMET   CHADDOCK 

Assistant  Professor  of  Statistics,  Columbia  University 

VITAL  statistics  serve  a  two-fold  purpose.  They  show 
where  to  look  for  causes  of  bad  health  conditions,  and 
they  demonstrate  the  success  or  failure  of  remedial 
measures  where  applied.  The  record  of  deaths  in  a  city,  year 
by  year,  may  show  a  constantly  high  death  rate  from  typhoid 
fever — a  rate  double  that  of  other  cities  of  similar  size.  An 
examination  of  the  city  water  and  milk  supply  may  reveal  con- 
ditions that  explain  the  high  death  rate.  It  may  be  necessary, 
however,  to  investigate  premises  in  various  sections  of  the  city — 
the  surface  wells  and  drainage,  the  sewer  connection  and  the 
garbage  removal.  The  cause  may  finally  be  located  in  the  use 
of  surface  wells  and  the  lack  of  sewer  connections.  If  it  is 
shown  that  one-half  or  two-thirds  of  the  families  are  using  these 
surface  wells  polluted  by  the  lack  of  sewer  connections,  it 
amounts  to  a  demonstration  to  the  city  authorities  as  to  the 
source  of  the  typhoid  germs.  The  method  of  prevention  is 
clear,  and  when  adopted  the  typhoid  rate  declines  fifty  per 
cent.  This  new  statistical  record  is  evidence  of  the  success  of 
the  plan,  and  those  who  were  obliged  to  make  improvements 
required  by  law  feel  that  the  requirements  were  just. 

It  is  the  purpose  of  this  paper  to  emphasize  the  importance 
of  vital  statistics  over  smaller  unit  areas,  and  to  make  clearer 
the  reason  why  we  must  at  present  depend  upon  special  inves- 
tigations for  most  of  our  detailed  information  on  social  and 
health  conditions. 

STUDIES  NEEDED  ON  HEALTH  PROBLEMS 

Our  present  health  reports  are  inadequate  for  social  purposes. 

Statistics  is  the  bookkeeping  of  the  public  health  movement. 

The  head  of  a  business  firm  asks  of  his  bookkeeper  more  than 

a  statement  of  general  results.     He  wishes  to  know  what  lines 

(530) 


STATISTICAL  METHODS  IN  SURVEY  WORK  57 

of  effort  have  yielded  the  best  returns  and  what,  if  any,  have 
been  conducted  at  a  loss.  He  wishes  to  know  the  weak  spots 
in  his  system  of  business  administration  in  order  that  efforts 
may  be  concentrated  at  those  points.  Likewise,  the  health  de- 
partment of  a  city  should  ask  of  its  bookkeeping  division  what 
causes  of  death  are  increasing  and  what  are  decreasing  in  the 
community  as  a  whole.  But  the  explanation  of  the  increase  or 
decrease  frequently  involves  a  study  of  smaller  portions  of  the 
community  in  order  to  discover  a  particular  set  of  conditions 
operating.  The  department  is  anxious  to  find  out  what  lines 
of  effort  are  most  effective  in  decreasing  disease  and  saving 
lives ;  what  occupations  are  so  dangerous  to  health  as  to  require 
legislative  interference  to  protect  employes;  in  what  sections 
of  the  city,  or  among  what  nationality,  or  under  what  sort  of 
industrial  and  living  conditions  the  mortality  rate  of  infants  is 
high.  Does  the  crowding  of  population,  as  shown  by  the  num- 
ber of  persons  per  room,  result  in  a  higher  death  rate  ?  Do 
bad  sanitation  and  ignorance  affect  the  problem  ?  What  is  the 
relation  of  pure  milk  supply  to  health  ?  What  is  the  effect  of 
establishing  milk  stations  ?  What  trades  are  especially  danger- 
ous from  the  point  of  view  of  tuberculosis?  Is  one  nationality 
more  susceptible  to  the  disease  than  another?  How  do  bad 
housing  and  ventilation  affect  the  problem?  Is  the  death  rate 
lower  where  hospitals  and  sanatoria  have  been  provided  for 
dangerous  cases  and  where  nursing  and  instruction  are  given  in 
the  home? 

At  present  few  of  these  questions  are  adequately  answered 
through  the  records  and  reports  of  health  departments.  It  is 
not  sufficient  to  give  general  death  rates  for  a  city  or  even  a 
ward  of  a  city.  The  divisions  must  be  smaller  so  as  to  show 
differences  in  health  associated  with  differences  in  housing,  sani- 
tation, nationality,  working  conditions,  and  special  provisions 
for  pure  water  and  milk  supply.  The  answers  are  left  to  special 
inquiries  into  the  housing,  sanitation,  milk  supply  and  factory 
conditions  of  certain  sections  of  the  city,  and  the  correlation  of 
the  health  records  with  these  facts. 

(531) 


58  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.11 

NEED   FOR  CORRELATION   OF   VITAL   STATISTICS   AND    POPULA- 
TION STATISTICS 

In  order  to  arrive  at  a  measure  of  progress  in  sanitation  and 
health,  rates  must  be  computed  for  successive  periods  of  time. 
This  cannot  be  done  without  a  record  of  population  to  which 
we  may  relate  vital  statistics.  It  is  not  enough  to  have  simply- 
total  population  for  the  city  or  ward.  It  is  necessary  to  dis- 
tinguish by  sex,  by  age  and  conjugal  condition  and  by  nation- 
ality. Further,  it  is  exceedingly  desirable  to  have  this  census 
of  population  by  smaller  divisions  than  boroughs  or  wards.  It 
is  only  by  intensive  study  of  localities  having  certain  living  and 
working  conditions  and  certain  classes  of  population,  and  by 
comparison  of  these  localities  with  others  having  different  en- 
vironmental and  human  conditions  that  we  can  secure  the  infor- 
mation on  which  to  base  a  program  of  future  social  action  on 
health  problems. 

Before  the  present  census  it  was  the  hope  of  statisticians  and 
social  workers  that  the  population  facts  of  our  large  cities 
would  be  tabulated  and  published  by  smaller  tracts  than  wards 
or  assembly  districts, — for  instance,  by  forty  or  eighty-acre 
areas,  which  would  cover  from  eight  to  twenty  Manhattan 
blocks.  The  director  of  the  census  states  that  the  enumera- 
tions have  been  made  for  New  York  city  by  forty  or  eighty- 
acre  tracts,  but  by  reason  of  inadequate  appropriation  the  re- 
sults cannot  be  published  for  such  tracts.  The  publication  by 
the  bureau  of  the  census  will  be  by  assembly  districts  only. 

The  chief  objection  to  the  assembly  district  as  a  unit  is  that 
it  is  political  and  is,  therefore,  subject  to  change.  There  is  no 
assurance  that  it  will  cover  the  same  area  at  the  next  succeed- 
ing census.  If  it  does  not,  we  cannot  compare  the  death  and 
birth-rates  for  the  two  periods  without  the  danger  of  serious 
error.  Besides,  we  wish  to  know,  at  successive  periods,  the 
changes  in  population  over  the  same  area,  the  changes  in  nation- 
ality, in  crowding,  in  sanitation,  in  living  and  working  conditions, 
so  that  we  may  relate  these  changes  to  changes  in  the  birth  and 
death  rates,  accident  and  sickness  rates,  thus  measuring  sanitary 
and  health  progress. 

(532) 


No.  4l       STATISTICAL  METHODS  IN  SURVEY  WORK  59 

Besides,  the  assembly  district  is  too  large  in  many  cases.  In 
order  really  to  make  evident  relations  of  cause  and  effect  in 
health  problems,  intensive  study  of  the  local  situation  is  fre- 
quently the  only  method.  It  then  becomes  possible  to  apply 
remedial  measures  intelligently  to  the  sanitary,  housing  or  work- 
ing conditions.  It  is  easy  for  bad  conditions  in  water  or  milk 
supply  or  in  housing  and  sanitation  over  a  narrow  area  to  ex- 
aggerate the  death  rate  for  a  whole  ward  or  assembly  district. 
The  remedy  must  be  applied  where  the  bad  conditions  are 
localized. 

For  New  York  City  it  is  possible  to  secure  population  facts  for 
the  smaller  areas  only  by  private  initiative  or  at  city  expense. 
The  Federation  of  Churches,  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Walter 
Laidlaw,  has  divided  the  city  into  smaller  tracts — not,  however, 
of  uniform  size — and  has  sent  thirteen  clerks  to  Washington  to 
secure  the  detailed  tabulations  by  these  areas  from  the  schedules. 
In  the  division  of  records  of  the  health  department  the  vital 
statistics  may  be  tabulated  by  houses,  blocks,  or  any  areas  de- 
sired, but  the  annual  health  reports  give  most  of  their  figures 
for  the  city  as  a  whole  or  by  boroughs,  and  very  little  of  the 
detail  even  by  wards.  The  next  problem  will  be,  even  if  Dr. 
Laidlaw  succeeds  in  making  his  tabulations  available  for  public 
use,  to  secure  cooperation  with  the  health  and  tenement-house 
departments,  to  have  their  data  tabulated  by  the  same  areas  in 
order  that  population  and  vital  statistics  may  be  related  without 
the  need  of  additional  special  tabulations  from  the  health  rec- 
ords. Thus  the  outlook  for  publication  of  health  statistics 
useful  for  social  purposes  is  not  promising  in  New  York  City. 
The  health  reports  are  two  years  behind,  the  special  studies 
are  intermittent  and  lack  continuity,  the  published  facts  are  for 
too  large  areas  to  be  most  useful  for  social  purposes,  and  it  is 
not  possible  to  relate  them  to  population  facts  for  smaller  areas 
than  the  boroughs  or  assembly  districts,  the  latter  not  being 
used  by  the  health  department  for  its  tabulations.  The  need 
is  for  a  research  department  within  the  bureau  of  records  to 
study  these  special  problems  and  bring  together  facts  of  popula- 
tion and  facts  of  vital  statistics  in  local  special  studies  to  test  the 
results  and  efficiency  of  health  expenditures  in  the  past  and  to 

(533) 


6o  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.  II 

indicate  new  lines  of  effort  in  protecting  the  public  health  for 
the  future. 

NEED    FOR   PUBLICITY 

It  is  not  enough  to  have  a  careful  investigation  of  the  causes 
of  infant  mortality,  or  of  the  facts  as  to  the  birth  rate,  or  of  the 
data  on  the  prevalence  of  tuberculosis,  or  of  the  information 
concerning  the  nature  and  extent  of  industrial  accidents.  These 
facts  must  be  put  in  convincing  form  and  must  be  used  to  in- 
form the  public.  On  the  basis  of  these  data  public  opinion 
must  support  or  condemn  policies  for  the  conservation  of 
health.  The  public  looks  in  vain  among  the  pages  of  the  av- 
erage health  report  for  information  which  will  furnish  con- 
vincing proof  or  disproof  of  the  efficiency  of  t)ast  policies  and 
which  will  guide  to  an  intelligent  shaping  of  future  policy.  The 
public  needs  to  be  informed  in  regard  to  the  meaning  and  pur- 
pose of  the  work  of  the  health  department.  One  aim  should 
be,  and  is,  to  teach  the  individual  citizen  how  to  protect  his 
health  and  that  of  his  family.  This  requires  a  weekly  or  monthly 
bulletin  so  popularized  as  to  educate  at  least  the  leaders  in  the 
public  health  movement,  i.  e.,  physicians,  teachers,  clergymen 
and  social  workers.  The  newspaper  is  being  used  to  great  ad- 
vantage. The  graphic  method  is  effective  in  reaching  the  eyes 
of  those  who  will  not  read. 

What  has  been  said  concerning  health  data  is  largely  true  of 
other  social  facts.  We  know  the  area  of  the  wards  of  a  city 
and  can  easily  calculate  the  density  of  population  per  acre,  but 
we  know  comparatively  little  about  the  number  of  persons  living 
per  room  and  the  extent  of  increase  in  room-crowding  in  cer- 
tain districts.  The  latter  is  the  vital  information  for  most  pur- 
poses, because  density  per  acre  does  not  take  into  consideration 
the  height  of  the  tenements  or  the  amount  of  space  used  in  each 
acre  for  factory  or  commercial  purposes.  Furthermore,  an 
average  per  room  for  a  large  area  is  of  little  value,  because  this 
may  fail  to  show  seriously  overcrowded  conditions  in  certain 
narrow  localities,  where  overcrowding  may  seriously  affect  the 
welfare  of  the  population. 

We  may  have  a  fairly  accurate  estimate  of  the  number  of  in- 

(534) 


No.  4]       STATISTICAL  METHODS  IN  SURVEY  WORK  6l 

dustrial  accidents  in  a  community,  and  this  knowledge  may  be 
sufficient  to  arouse  us  to  action.  But  this  is  not  enough  knowl- 
edge upon  which  to  base  a  program  of  prevention  or  compen- 
sation. It  is  necessary  to  locate  the  dangerous  operations  in 
the  various  industries,  to  know  the  hours  and  speed  of  work, 
the  experience  of  the  injured  workers,  the  hour  of  the  day  when 
the  most  accidents  occur,  as  well  as  the  number  of  hours  at 
work  before  th*  accident,  the  safety  devices  employed,  the  in- 
structions given,  the  nature  and  duration  of  disability,  and  other 
similar  facts,  before  schemes  of  prevention  and  insurance  can  be 
intelligently  worked  out.  We  look  in  vain  in  most  official  re- 
ports for  material  upon  the  basis  of  which  accident  rates  can  be 
computed  because  the  numbers  employed  in  specific  operations, 
in  supposedly  dangerous  industries,  are  not  known.  A  larger 
absolute  numbe*r  of  accidents  does  not  stamp  a  trade  as  spe- 
cially dangerous  if  a  larger  number  of  men  is  employed  in  that 
trade,  and  yet  in  legislation  it  would  not  be  possible  to  uphold 
preventive  legislation  applied  to  a  specific  dangerous  operation 
unless  it  could  be  conclusively  shown  that  it  was  specially  dan- 
gerous to  health  and  safety.  There  is  little  uniformity  in  the 
published  facts  about  accidents,  so  that  comparison  is  impos- 
sible. We  have  now  a  movement  for  a  uniform  schedule  of 
accident  reporting,  but  we  need  uniform  classification  for  pub- 
lished reports  as  well  as  uniform  collections  of  facts. 

Statistical  records  often  show  us  where  to  look  for  the  causes 
of  social  maladjustments,  as  was  pointed  out  at  the  beginning 
of  this  paper.  A  survey  of  conditions  in  a  community  and  a 
careful  record  of  the  findings  which  can  be  recorded  in  statisti- 
cal form  ought  to  be  a  useful  guide  in  any  preventive  campaign. 
It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  quantitative  study  of  social  pheno- 
mena is  attracting  wider  and  wider  attention  at  the  present  time. 
But  this  is  not  the  entire  function  of  statistical  data  in  relation 
to  social  problems.  They  are  testing  instruments  for  the 
schemes  of  social  reform  in  operation.  They  measure  the  suc- 
cess or  failure  of  a  program  that  has  been  adopted.  This  being 
the  case,  it  is  a  responsible  matter  to  plan  out  a  survey  of  com- 
munity conditions,  so  far  as  the  methods  to  be  used  are  con- 
cerned.    The  survey  finds  the  conditions  to  be  of  a  particular 

(535) 


62  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK 

nature  at  a  given  period.  The  important  social  question  is, 
what  will  their  nature  be  at  a  period  ten  years  in  the  future? 
It  is  a  great  function  of  the  survey  to  reveal  actual  conditions 
in  order  to  build  up  public  opinion  by  education  on  the  great 
social  responsibilities.  It  is  an  important  service  to  hold  public 
officials  up  to  a  test  of  their  efficiency  at  the  particular  time  at 
which  the  survey  is  made.  But  this,  it  would  appear,  is  not  the 
only,  or  even  the  greatest  function  of  the  survey,  because  those 
who  are  making  it  possible  for  the  community  to  know  itself 
to-day  wish  to  furnish  methods  and  plans  by  which  the  same 
community  may  keep  a  check  on  its  conditions  year  by  year, 
in  the  future,  and  thus  make  the  knowledge  a  permanent 
possession. 

(536) 


THE  SCOPE  AND  VALUE  OF  THE  LOCAL  SURVEYS 
OF  THE  MEN  AND  RELIGION  MOVEMENT 

BY   ORRIN   G.  COCKS 
Secretary  of  the  Laity  League,  New  York  Federation  of  Churches 

THE  last  campaign  of  the  Men  and  Religion  Movement, 
which  has  touched  nearly  seventy-five  cities  of  the 
country,  has  been  held  in  New  York  city.  It  has  had 
a  five-fold  method  of  attack :  the  presentation  to  the  men  of  the 
churches  of  the  need  of  boys'  work,  Bible  study,  missions,  indi- 
vidual evangelism  and  social  service.  There  is  a  clear  recogni- 
tion of  the  need  of  effort  on  the  part  of  laymen.  Almost  no 
attempt  was  made  in  the  campaign  to  reach  men  outside  the 
church.  This  is  a  refreshing  point  of  view.  It  implies  a  feeling 
of  dissatisfaction,  an  acknowledgment  of  only  partial  success ; 
and  it  involves  examination  of  the  working  force.  This  paper 
is  concerned  chiefly  with  social  service. 

It  has  been  the  custom  of  the  social-service  leaders  in  other 
cities  to  request  a  general  survey  to  be  taken  of  the  social  and 
religious  life  of  the  cities,  on  which  they  might  base  their  recom- 
mendations to  the  men  of  the  churches.  The  New  York  social- 
service  committee,  of  which  William  Jay  Schieffelin  was  chair- 
man, decided  to  make  the  formal  survey  secondary  and  to  make 
an  intimate  investigation  of  activities  peculiar  in  many  respects 
to  New  York. 

The  committee  approached  the  social  problems  of  the  city 
from  two  standpoints.  First,  the  names  of  the  men  from  two 
hundred  seventy-five  or  three  hundred  churches  in  Manhattan 
and  the  Bronx  were  obtained.  These  were  presumably  especi- 
ally interested  in  social  service.  In  order  to  facilitate  the 
gathering  of  data  and  to  develop  the  neighborhood  feeling,  the 
city  was  divided  into  twelve  districts,  eight  of  which  were  in 
Manhattan  and  four  in  the  Bronx.     Survey  blanks,  dealing  with 

(537) 


64  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.  II 

the  institutional  and  social  life  of  the  church,  the  equipment  for 
work  and  the  methods  used,  the  character  of  the  community, 
and  the  existence  of  such  institutions  as  saloons,  dance  halls, 
motion-picture  shows,  pool  rooms,  vaudeville  houses  and  schools 
were  sent  to  every  man.  This  involved  for  each  man  careful 
personal  investigation  of  an  assigned  district  near  his  church. 
In  many  cases  for  the  first  time,  church  men  made  a  systematic 
canvass  of  the  social  life  surrounding  their  churches.  This 
study  aroused  much  enthusiasm  among  men  who  were  socially 
inclined.  For  each  of  the  twelve  districts  there  was  appointed 
a  chairman,  who  gathered  the  social  investigators  or  key-men 
together  weekly  for  conferences. 

The  survey  of  the  district  below  Houston  street  will  serve  as 
an  illustration  of  the  kind  of  facts  which  were  gathered : 

(a)  A  study  of  the  1910  census  for  the  district  revealed  the 
fact  that  there  were  420,000  people  below  Houston  street. 
These  were  separated  by  nationalities  and  time  of  arrival  in  the 
country.  Total  native  whites  of  native  parents  were  found  to 
be  only  1 7,01 1 .  Some  315 ,000  persons  were  found  to  be  living 
east  of  the  Bowery  and  105,000  west  of  the  Bowery.  In  the 
district  there  were  some  107,000  Italians. 

(b)  It  was  found  that  the  members  of  the  Protestant  churches 
amounted  to  a  few  more  than  9000.  Of  the  twenty-four 
churches,  fourteen  were  doing  social  work.  Eleven  missions 
were  found  to  be  ministering  to  homeless  men  and  sailors.  An 
investigation  of  the  attendance  at  ten  selected  churches  on  Palm 
Sunday  morning  and  evening  revealed  the  fact  that  there  is  a 
very  limited  group  from  which  to  draw  for  formal  church  ser- 
vices, and  that  the  churches  are  forced  to  undertake  neighbor- 
hood and  institutional  work  for  the  overwhelming  foreign  pop- 
ulation. 

(c)  A  study  was  made  of  the  work  of  the  hospitals  and  dis- 
pensaries, both  public  and  private,  within  the  district. 

(d)  The  fifty  acres  of  park  space,  with  the  activities  carried 
on  in  each  park,  were  listed ;  also,  the  number  and  kinds  of 
special  activities  carried  on  in  public  schools,  both  summer  and 
winter.  Some  attempt  was  made  to  discover  the  completeness 
with  which  the  district  was  served  with  fresh-air  agencies. 

(538) 


No.  4]  MEN  AND  RELIGION  LOCAL  SURVEYS  65 

(e)  Investigation  revealed  the  fact  that  there  were  1379 
saloon  or  hotel  liquor  licenses  below  Houston  street  or  one  to 
three  hundred  fifty-seven  inhabitants,  as  against  one  to  four 
hundred  forty-eight  for  Manhattan.  Remarkable  as  it  may 
seem,  when  the  saloons  catering  to  the  business  group  are  de- 
ducted, it  is  found  that  the  people  in  the  tenements  are  more 
abstemious  than  those  in  other  parts  of  the  city.  One  hundred 
and  sixty  pool  rooms  were  noted,  twenty-two  moving-picture 
shows,  forty  dance  halls  and  forty-nine  theaters  and  vaudeville 
houses.  A  careful  investigation  was  carried  on  of  sixty-three 
lodging  houses  also,  with  a  total  capacity  of  10,161. 

This  slight  summary  of  one  interesting  district  will  show  the 
kind  of  facts  revealed  elsewhere.  The  completeness  of  the  work 
varied  in  the  twelve  districts.  The  men  representing  the  local 
churches  were  finally  called  together  for  three  evenings  of  con- 
ference and  discussion  with  such  men  as  Charles  Stelzle,  Ray- 
mond Robins  and  J.  L.  Lansing.  In  these  meetings,  clear-cut 
and  definite  suggestions  were  made  for  future  work  by  individual 
men  and  churches. 

The  second  way  of  approach  to  social  problems  was  through 
a  social-service  committee.  The  chairman  recognized  the  im- 
mensity of  the  field,  the  ignorance  of  the  men  of  the  churches, 
the  newness  of  social  service  on  the  program  of  the  churches 
and  the  importance  of  advice  from  men  whose  decisions  would 
carry  weight.  He  called  around  him  fifty  men  who  were  well 
trained  in  some  phase  of  social  Christianity.  The  nucleus  of  the 
committee  was  gathered  from  the  Laity  League  for  Social  Ser- 
vice, which  for  two  years  had  been  studying  city  problems  from 
the  standpoint  of  the  men  of  the  churches.  As  finally  constituted, 
the  committee  comprised  eleven  of  the  younger  and  more  active 
ministers,  nine  lawyers,  two  educators,  ten  social  workers,  four 
men  in  commercial  life,  two  transportation  specialists,  two  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  secretaries,  one  efficiency  engineer, 
one  social  and  religious  statistician  and  others,  all  Christian  men 
of  large  vision. 

The  field  for  study  was  almost  unlimited.  When  once  a  man 
recognizes  that  rehgion  is  a  matter  of  the  spirit  and  lies  in  the 
realm  of  motive,  he  discovers  that  all  work  is,  or  may  become,  re- 

(539) 


66  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.  II 

ligious.  Instead  of  following  the  general  survey  outlined  by 
the  social-service  experts  of  the  Men  and  Religion  Movement, 
the  committee  decided  to  devote  its  activities  primarily  to  defi- 
nite studies  along  ten  different  lines.  By  means  of  a  secretary 
and  a  corps  of  investigators  giving  their  full  time,  in  addition  to 
the  skilled  assistance  rendered  by  the  members  of  the  sub-com- 
mittees, the  following  subjects  were  investigated  :  ( i )  municipal 
agencies;  (2)  social  agencies;  (3)  education;  (4)  industries 
and  industrial  welfare;  (5)  recreation  and  amusements;  (6) 
housing  and  transportation;  (7)  health  [including  sex  educa- 
tion] ;  (8)  immigration  and  the  foreigner;  (9)  justice  and  pro- 
bation;   (10)  the  police,  with  a  statement  on  the  social  evil. 

The  reports  of  the  sub-committees  were  directed  to  the  men 
of  the  churches  and  were  intended  primarily  for  their  consider- 
ation and  action.  As  each  subject  was  dealt  with,  the  results  of 
the  investigation  were  thrown  into  a  statement,  a  series  of  reso- 
lutions and  one  or  more  recommendations.  Although  the  field 
was  by  no  means  covered,  these  recommendations  in  the  ten 
lines  totaled  about  one  hundred  eighty. 

In  every  case  the  chairmen  of  the  sub-committees  and  their 
co-workers  adopted  the  method  of  complete  cooperation  with 
the  skilled  social,  industrial,  legal  or  municipal  agencies  that 
were  covering  the  subjects  investigated.  The  committee  was 
unanimous  in  feeling  that  the  period  of  independent  work  is 
past  and  that  success  is  dependent  on  complete  cooperation  of 
all  efficient  agencies.  This  might  be  made  clearer  by  saying 
that  the  committee  consulted  with  fully  five  hundred  indi- 
viduals,— city  department  heads,  social  agencies  and  private 
experts. 

Below  will  be  found  a  short  summary  of  the  recommenda- 
tions of  several  of  the  sub-committees : 

Recreation  and  amusements,  (i)  Urge  all  church  men  to 
cooperate  with  the  public  recreation  commission.  (2)  Estab- 
lish dancing  in  church  houses.  Encourage  dancing  in  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  buildings.  Regularly  inspect  pub- 
lic dance  halls.  Close  up  those  that  are  disorderly  or  immoral. 
(3)  Support  the  ordinance  governing  the  motion-picture  shows. 
Form  a  group  to  commend  good  plays  and  to  reform  or  sup- 

(540) 


No.  4]  MEN  AND  RELIGION  LOCAL  SURVEYS  67 

press  theaters  offending  public  morality.  (4)  Assist  in  reduc- 
ing to  the  minimum  excursion  boats  maintaining  state  rooms  or 
selling  liquor.  (5)  Use  church  houses  more  generally  for  re- 
creation. Maintain  more  vacation  schools  in  churches  and 
public  schools.  Urge  larger  appropriations  for  this  department 
from  the  board  of  education.  (6)  Introduce  pool  and  billiard 
parlors  in  the  churches.  Support  an  ordinance  closing  public 
parlors  at  a  reasonable  hour  and  exercise  the  supervision  of 
such  games  in  the  neighborhood  of  churches.  (7)  Urge  the 
establishment  of  well  managed  and  wholesome  public  amuse- 
ment parks. 

Industries  and  industrial  welfare.  ( i )  Develop  cordial  co- 
operation between  the  trade-union  locals  and  the  Federation  of 
Labor  men  and  the  men  of  the  churches.  (2)  Support  a  state 
bill  for  one  day's  rest  in  every  seven.  Take  an  advanced  posi- 
tion on  the  physical  surroundings  of  labor,  fire  hazards  in  lofts 
and  factories,  and  safety  appliances.  (3)  Become  intelligent 
on  the  question  of  "home  work"  and  the  wisest  method  of 
meeting  this  situation.  Let  it  be  understood  that  the  church 
men  understand  and  are  opposed  to  child  labor  or  harmful  labor 
of  women.  (4)  Support  enlightened  laws  upon  employers' 
liability  and  workmen's  compensation.  (  5  )  Study  the  preferen- 
tial shop  as  a  sensible  method  of  avoiding  trouble  between  em- 
ployers and  trade  unions.  (6)  Urge  the  proper  study  of  the 
pushcart  situation  and  the  possible  establishment  of  city  markets. 
(7)  Propose  the  larger  use  of  the  state  and  federal  employ- 
ment bureaus  for  removing  excess  labor  from  the  cities  to  parts 
of  the  country  where  the  need  for  labor  is  great. 

Social  agencies,  (i)  Urge  church  men  to  attempt  to  under- 
stand local  and  national  social  conditions  and  to  make  regular 
study  of  progress.  (2)  Become  volunteer  social  workers  where 
the  need  is  great.  Encourage  individual  churches  to  relieve 
their  own  poor,  but  to  do  this  in  cooperation  with  other  agencies 
in  the  districts.  (3)  Support  a  confidential  exchange  of  infor- 
mation regarding  needy  people  to  avoid  overlapping.  Assist  in 
furnishing  facilities  for  tubercular  cases.  (4)  Lay  upon  the  city 
the  burden  of  the  care  of  homeless  men  and  support  the  re- 
quest for  a  farm  colony  for  vagrants.      (5)  Provide  permanent 

(541) 


68  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.11 

custodial  care  for  the  feeble-minded.  This  will  serve  to  illus- 
trate the  kind  of  work  that  was  done. 

Much  enthusiasm  was  engendered,  which  culminated  in  the 
campaign.  Thoughtful  workers,  however,  realize  that  this  is 
but  the  beginning.  The  work  of  conservation  is  far  more  im- 
portant. This  subject  has  had  the  thoughtful  attention  of  the 
committee.  They  recognize  that  the  work  of  obtaining  perma- 
nent results  will  be  slow.  The  organization  to  handle  such 
work,  however,  must  be  of  an  interdenominational  character 
which  will  command  the  respect  and  support  of  the  laymen  of 
all  denominations.  Since  social  service  is  involved  in  no  way 
with  doctrinal  questions,  there  is  no  reason  why  such  an  inter- 
denominational group,  working  for  social  betterment  and  dom- 
inated by  the  religious  motive,  should  not  include  the  Catholic 
laymen  and  the  Jews.  Luckily  such  an  agency  has  been  in  ex- 
istence in  New  York  long  enough  to  test  itself. 

The  leaders  of  the  churches  recognize  that  the  church,  as  a 
church,  cannot  commit  itself  to  social,  philanthropic,  civic,  san- 
itary or  penal  work.  The  function  of  the  church  is  to  inspire. 
The  organization  formed  by  the  combination  of  individuals  ex- 
ists primarily  to  bring  men  into  relationship  with  God  irre- 
spective of  their  political,  social  or  philosophical  opinions.  All 
recognize,  however,  that  inspiration  must  find  its  expression  in 
action.  Every  man  who  has  learned  the  value  of  clean  living, 
love  of  God  and  love  of  his  fellows  must  work  these  out  in  his 
life,  otherwise  his  religion  is  a  travesty.  His  definite  line  of 
work,  apart  from  his  business  of  obtaining  the  necessities  of  life, 
will  depend  largely  upon  his  interests  and  his  ability.  No  two 
men  can  be  expected  to  work  out  their  religious  conviction  in 
the  same  way. 

There  exist  also  in  the  Protestant  churches  organizations, 
leagues  or  brotherhoods  of  men  which  have  been  formed  for 
social  purposes.  Although  the  church  may  not  take  action  as 
a  unit,  these  men's  organizations,  as  well  as  individual  men,  may 
support  certain  convictions  and  assume  certain  positions  in 
society.  These  brotherhoods  have  already  discovered  that  it  is 
essential  to  work  upon  problems  external  to  the  life  of  the  in- 
dividual and  the  church  if  they  are  to  preserve  life.     The  pro- 

(543) 


No.  4]  MEN  AND  RELIGION  LOCAL  SURVEYS  69 

posals  of  the  five  departments  of  the  Men  and  Rehgion  Move- 
ment come  as  a  godsend  to  these  agencies  of  the  Protestant 
churches. 

The  organization  of  conservation  will  be  a  thoroughly  demo- 
cratic one.  Care  will  be  used  in  its  membership.  The  fairest- 
minded  men  of  executive  ability,  who  will  command  the  respect 
of  laymen  throughout  the  city,  will  serve  as  the  representatives 
of  the  men  of  the  church.  They  will  select  activities  requiring 
action  and  will  bring  them  directly  to  the  attention  of  the  men 
in  the  local  churches.  They  will  seek  the  opinions  and  support 
of  such  men  and  will  request  their  cooperation  until  results  are 
obtained. 

A  situation  has  developed  in  New  York  which  requires  care- 
ful attention.  The  city  has  been  found  to  be  so  large  that  it  is 
impossible  to  draw  together  the  church  and  the  social  workers 
for  satisfactory  action  for  all  the  boroughs  or  even  for  one 
borough.  Local  neighborhood  groups  have  been  formed  or 
are  in  process  of  formation  in  several  parts  of  the  city.  Believ- 
ing heartily  in  cooperation,  the  conservation  agency  must  take 
into  consideration  these  intensely  loyal  groups  of  religious  and 
social  workers  and  must  attempt  a  thorough  fusion  of  workers 
for  local  and  neighborhood  betterment.  There  is  little  doubt 
that  such  neighborhood  groups  will  rapidly  develop  into  organ- 
izations with  an  intelligent  comprehension  of  city-wide  problems. 

The  Men  and  Religion  campaign  has  accomplished  the  im- 
possible. In  one  short  year  it  has  convinced  the  Protestant 
churches  throughout  the  country  that  their  mission  is  not  only 
individual  but  social  as  well.  It  has  welcomed  into  its  ranks  as 
thoroughly  orthodox  those  social  workers  who  have  insisted 
upon  the  social  application  of  the  gospel  and  who  have  hereto- 
fore been  regarded  as  heretical.  It  has  convinced  the  men  of 
the  churches  of  their  essential  narrowness  and  has  led  them, 
with  due  humility,  to  link  themselves  with  social  workers. 

The  progress  of  the  conservation  of  the  work  of  the  New 
York  Men  and  Religion  campaign  must  necessarily  be  slow. 
The  men  of  the  churches,  both  lay  and  clerical,  are  ignorant. 
They  have  called  too  many  things  common  and  unclean.  They 
have  been  dominated   by  individualism.      No  one   campaign, 

(543) 


70  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK 

however  effective  it  may  be,  can  accomplish  the  conversion  and 
the  education  of  the  mass  of  laymen.  The  important  result  of 
the  campaign  is  a  change  in  the  point  of  view.  The  work  of 
training  will  come  in  due  time.  Without  doubt,  individual  men 
and  individual  laymen's  groups  in  various  parts  of  the  city  will 
take  up  actively  and  effectively  throughout  the  coming  months 
those  parts  of  the  program  outlined  by  the  social-service  com- 
mittee which  appeal  to  the  more  active  of  their  members. 

(544) 


A  FEDERAL  COMMISSION  ON  INDUSTRIAL  RELA- 
TIONS—WHY IT  IS  NEEDED 

JOHN  B.   CLARK 

Professor  of  Political  Economy,  Columbia  University 

THE  most  critical  issues  pending  in  modern  states  are  those 
between  employers  and  employed,  and  in  our  own  coun- 
try they  are  coming  to  have  an  overshadowing  import- 
ance. This  is  because  the  nation  is  democratic  and  is  becoming 
more  and  more  industrial,  and  the  demand  is  insistently  made 
that  the  voting  power  be  used  to  improve  the  laborer's  economic 
status. 

How  much  a  government  can  do  in  promoting  the  settlement 
of  the  wages  problem  can  be  known  only  after  rather  long  ex- 
perimenting ;  but  it  is  clear  that  in  any  case  the  problem  must 
be  settled  by  some  action  on  the  part  of  the  people.  If  the 
manner  of  settlement  is  right,  we  can  count  on  prosperity, 
peace,  and  at  least  an  approach  to  contentment ;  if  it  is  wrong, 
there  will  be  embitterment  and  serious  peril ;  while  so  long  as 
there  is  no  settlement  at  all,  industry  will  go  haltingly,  classes 
will  be  increasingly  antagonistic,  and  the  government  will  have 
no  basis  for  a  permanent  policy.  Law-making  will  yield  to 
whatever  pressure  is  for  the  moment  the  strongest. 

No  one  can  guarantee  that  a  commission  will  be  able  to  an- 
swer, once  for  all,  the  questions  that  chiefly  perplex  us,  but  it 
should  be  able  to  do  much  in  that  direction,  and  at  least  put  us 
in  the  way  of  getting  the  answers  we  seek.  Some  of  the  most 
essential  facts  are  not  now  known.  No  one  can  positively  tell 
how  great  the  income  is  which  has  to  be  divided  between  em- 
ployers and  employed.  Statistics  of  income  have  never  been 
made  complete,  but  a  commission  can  make  the  most  of  what 
figures  there  are  and  it  can  obtain  more.  Moreover,  testing, 
collecting  and  arranging  figures  will  be  a  service  of  the  highest 
value,  and  a  commission  which  has  the  confidence  of  the  public 

(545) 


72  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.11 

will  be  able  to  prepare  statistical  material  which  is  fit  to  be  the 
basis  of  public  and  private  action. 

Some  facts  which  are  needed  have  to  do  with  the  difficulties 
inherent  in  the  industrial  system,  and  others  with  experiments 
already  tried  for  dealing  with  them.  There  is  a  long  chapter  of 
attempts  made  in  our  own  states  and  in  foreign  countries  to 
make  employer  and  men  more  like  partners  and  less  like  enemies. 
It  is  necessary  to  know  how  much  each  one  of  these  efforts  has 
accomplished. 

The  supreme  question  is  a  moral  one.  Is  labor  generally 
getting  its  due?  A  belief  in  some  quarters  that  it  is  not,  ex- 
plains the  embittermentof  the  once  cordial  relations  of  employer 
and  employe.  If  there  is  any  way  of  knowing  in  what  part  of 
the  system  labor  gets  all  that  is  due  to  it  and  in  what  parts  it 
gets  less,  and  if  there  is  any  way  of  ascertaining  what  prevent- 
able causes  stand  in  the  way  of  justice,  that  discovery  should  be 
rated  as  in  the  first  rank  of  discoveries  making  for  the  improve- 
ment of  mankind.  A  belief  that  the  laborer  is  wronged  and 
that  he  will  never  get  justice  without  a  revolution  accounts  for 
the  growth  of  the  dangerous  parties  that  constitute  the  extreme 
left  of  the  labor  movement.  A  belief  that  much  can  be  done 
without  revolution — that  reforms  will  work  well  and  revolution 
extremely  ill  for  the  workers  themselves — accounts  for  the 
earnest  constructive  work  to  which  a  great  majority  of  citizens 
are  committed.  We  need  therefore  an  authorized  list  of  such 
reforms  as  can  claim  immediate  support. 

There  are  many  things  we  need  to  be  sure  of  in  connection 
with  the  policy  of  reform.  Some  efforts  to  change  the  terms 
of  distribution  in  favor  of  the  workers  react  badly  on  the 
amount  to  be  divided.  Strikes  and  lockouts  do  so,  and  so  does 
the  policy  which  organized  labor  sometimes  adopts,  of  reduc- 
ing its  own  efficiency — the  so-called  "  ca'  canny  "  of  the  English 
trade-unionist.  Different  in  its  working,  but  closely  connected 
with  these  measures  on  the  part  of  the  workers,  is  the  em- 
ployer's effort  to  reduce  the  output  of  his  own  mills  and  of  other 
mills  of  like  kind,  for  the  sake  of  exacting  higher  prices  from 
the  community.  If  we  can  stop  all  such  efforts,  how  much  will 
society  gain  and  what  part  of  the  gain  will  fall  to  the  laborer? 

(546) 


No. 4]        COMMISSION  ON  INDUSTRIAL  RELATIONS  73 

Of  course  there  will  be  more  to  be  divided,  but  how  can  we 
cause  the  excess  to  be  shared  fairly? 

In  so  far  as  the  laborers'  plan  of  limiting  the  number  of 
pieces  they  can  turn  out  is  concerned,  that  appears,  on  its  face, 
to  be  an  absurdity.  How  can  any  one  expect  to  make  his 
wages  greater  by  making  his  product  smaller?  And  yet  this 
plan  of  action  has  some  motive.  There  must  be  a  way  in 
which,  during  a  limited  time  and  for  a  limited  number  of  persons, 
it  may  do  something  which,  in  their  view,  is  rational.  The 
whole  evolution  that  has  led  to  such  tactics  should  be  examined 
and,  in  the  light  of  history,  statistics  and  economic  principles, 
a  reasonable  plan  of  action  should  be  determined. 

Even  the  basic  question  of  the  justice  and  the  utility  of  the 
organization  of  labor  is  here  and  there  called  in  question.  This 
means  more  than  the  rightfulness  of  particular  things  that  trade 
unionists  do ;  it  concerns  the  principle  of  trade  unionism,  rather 
than  the  practises  which  have  grown  up  under  it.  If  there  were 
any  real  doubt  as  to  the  necessity  and  the  justice  of  organizing 
laborers  for  collective  action,  that  question  would  easily  take 
the  first  rank  in  importance.  There  is  no  real  uncertainty, 
however,  as  to  this  fundamental  point,  but  there  is  actual  danger 
that,  in  taking  ground  against  the  violent  measures  of  some 
unions,  even  reasonable  men  may  range  themselves  against  the 
principle  of  union ;  and  they  will  do  so  more  and  more  as  the 
opinion  gains  ground  that  strikes  are  useless  without  violence. 

Can  labor  get  on  without  actual  strikes  ?  How  far  can  strikes, 
when  they  occur,  succeed  without  violence?  Is  there  any 
danger  that  a  rigorous  enforcement  of  law,  without  tribunals  of 
arbitration  for  the  settlement  of  wage  questions,  will  leave 
laborers  helpless  in  their  employers'  hands?  On  the  other 
hand,  is  there  danger  that  no  enforcement  or  a  lax  enforcement 
of  the  law  for  protecting  persons  and  property  would  make  the 
employers  comparatively  helpless  and  invite  anarchy  in  every 
great  industrial  center? 

Sad  indeed  would  be  a  state  in  which  peaceful  strikes  would 
lead  to  starving  the  workers  and  violent  ones  would  destroy  the 
social  order.  Verily,  it  is  a  choice  between  the  devil  and  the 
deep    sea !      But   fortunately   there    is    an    alternative.      Suc- 

(547) 


74  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK 

cessful  arbitration  may  both  preserve  order  and  do  justice. 
Recent  history  records  a  long  series  of  possible  measures  aim- 
ing to  secure  the  laborer  against  exploitation,  and  the  employer 
and  the  non-union  worker  from  the  various  forms  of  sabotage. 
There  are  concihation,  arbitration  by  committees  created  by 
the  contestants,  each  for  a  particular  dispute,  and  arbitration 
by  permanent  tribunals.  There  is  adjudication  having  no 
coercive  power,  and  taking  place  only  as  a  tribunal  is  invoked 
by  one  or  both  contestants,  and  there  is  the  same  kind  of  ad- 
judication which  acts  on  its  own  initiative,  though  still  without 
power  to  enforce  its  decisions.  There  are  tribunals  that  have 
full  coercive  power,  since  they  can  fortify  their  decisions  by 
fines  or  other  penalties  for  those  who  refuse  to  accept  them. 
There  is  a  plan  which  requires  no  formal  coercion,  but  invokes 
a  very  real  power  when  it  publishes  a  decision.  It  investigates 
the  claims  of  workmen,  announces  a  just  rate  of  pay  and  merely 
relies  on  a  stern  repression  of  disorder  in  case  the  rate  is  re- 
fused. Workers  who  then  refuse  a  really  just  rate  are  not  able 
to  carry  their  point  by  "  slugging  "  the  men  who  accept  it. 

There  is  much  more  to  be  investigated  and  it  is  clear  that  the 
field  of  inquiry  is  enormously  large.  That  many  studies  and 
fruitful  ones  have  been  made  in  this  domain  is  no  reason  for 
opposing  the  creation  of  a  commission.  It  can  serve  as  a  com- 
petent jury  to  weigh  the  arguments  of  those  who  have  already 
put  their  conclusions  on  record.  The  mass  of  literature  on  this 
subject  is  so  vast  that  no  one  reads  the  whole  of  it,  and  many 
valuable  parts  of  it  reach  very  few  persons.  If  a  commission 
makes  the  most  of  the  studies  of  the  past,  if  it  summarizes  con- 
clusions and  weighs  the  arguments  in  favor  of  them,  its  reports 
should  be  very  illuminating  to  the  general  public.  Even  a 
small  measure  of  success  in  so  a  vast  an  undertaking  would  be 
a  sufficient  reward  for  the  labor  and  the  outlay  it  would  cost. 
It  might  easily  open  a  vista  leading  to  a  state  of  future  peace, 
comfort  and  justice,  gained  without  an  overthrow  of  the  social 
order  followed  by  a  more  than  doubtful  effort  to  build  a  new 
one. 

(548) 


LABOR  LEGISLATION  A  NATIONAL  SOCIAL  NEED ' 

HENRY   R.  SEAGER 
Professor  of  Political  Economy,  Columbia  University 

AS  preparation  for  discussing  another's  paper,  it  is  but  pru- 
dent to  have  read  it  or  at  least  to  have  heard  it.  Un- 
fortunately, I  have  been  prevented  from  either  reading 
or  hearing  the  papers  to  which  you  have  just  listened.  This 
gives  me  an  excuse,  of  which  I  am  glad  to  avail  myself,  for  in- 
terpreting the  invitation  of  the  Academy  to  discuss  the  topic  of 
the  morning  as  an  invitation  to  point  out  still  another  national 
social  need. 

The  national  social  need  with  which  I  am  most  impressed  just 
now  is  labor  legislation.  This  need  and  the  efforts  the  Amer- 
ican Association  for  Labor  Legislation  and  other  organizations 
are  making  to  meet  it  ought  to  be  made  articulate  before  this 
audience. 

An  excellent  illustration  of  the  circumstances  that  call  for 
national  labor  legislation  is  the  use  of  poisonous  phosphorus  in 
the  match  industry,  which  has  just  been  made  subject  to  a  pro- 
hibitive tax  by  act  of  Congress.  White  or  yellow  phosphorus, 
the  poisonous  form  that  is  commonly  used  in  the  manufacture 
of  American  matches,  happens  to  be  somewhat  cheaper  than 
sesqui-sulphide  or  any  of  the  other  non-poisonous  forms  of 
phosphorus  which  might  be  substituted.  It  happens  also  that 
the  poisonous,  double-dip,  phosphorus  match  is  a  little  better 
match  from  the  point  of  view  of  ready  ignition  than  any  non- 
poisonous  match  that  has  yet  been  made.  In  fact,  it  ignites  so 
readily  that  its  presence  in  the  community  is  a  frequent  cause 
of  destructive  fires.  (The  Bureau  of  Fire  Protection  in  New 
York  city  has  been  so  impressed  with  the  danger  in  connection 
with  poisonous  phosphorus  matches  that  it  has  prohibited  the 
sale  or  use  of  such  matches  in  New  York  city  after  January  i, 

^Discussion  at  the  meeting  of  the  Academy  of  Political  Science,  April  19,  1912. 

(549) 


76  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.11 

191 3,  simply  and  solely  as  a  means  of  fire  protection.)  Be- 
cause it  is  a  little  cheaper,  and  a  little  better,  the  poisonous 
phosphorus  match  has  continued  to  be  manufactured  in  the 
United  States ;  not  because  American  match  manufacturers  are 
so  inhuman  as  to  desire  to  expose  their  workers  to  the  risk  of 
the  terrible  disease  called  '*  phossy  jaw,"  but  because  competition 
left  them  no  choice  if  they  were  to  hold  their  own  in  competi- 
tive markets.  They  might,  of  course,  have  agreed  unanimously 
to  discontinue  the  use  of  poisonous  phosphorus,  but  it  illus- 
trates the  anomalous  condition  of  our  law,  that  such  an  agree- 
ment, if  entered  into,  would  almost  certainly  have  fallen  under 
the  condemnation  of  the  Sherman  Anti-Trust  Act.  Moreover, 
there  was  at  least  one  manufacturer  who  denied  the  existence  of 
the  danger  of  "  phossy  jaw  "  and  who  could  not  have  been  per- 
suaded to  give  up  the  use  of  poisonous  phosphorus  unless  com- 
pelled to  do  so  by  law. 

In  this  country,  the  first  thought  when  confronted  with  an 
industrial  poison  of  this  sort,  for  which  substitutes  almost  as 
cheap  and  almost  as  good  are  available,  is  that  the  prohibition 
of  the  use  of  the  poison  should  be  secured  through  state  legis- 
lation. But  the  same  circumstances  that  compel  the  well- 
meaning  manufacturer  to  meet  the  conditions  set  by  his  less 
scrupulous  competitor  virtually  compel  the  well-meaning  state 
to  make  its  labor  legislation  as  lenient  as  that  of  its  less  advanced 
neighbor  with  which  its  industries  may  be  in  competition.  The 
half  dozen  states  in  which  the  match-manufacturing  industry  is 
carried  on  could  not  individually  prohibit  the  use  of  poisonous 
phosphorus  by  their  manufacturers,  without  running  the  risk  of 
driving  out  an  important  state  industry.  For  a  situation  of  this 
kind,  uniform  regulations  applying  to  all  manufacturers  through- 
out the  United  States  offer  the  only  satisfactory  solution. 

Under  the  constitution  of  the  United  States,  Congress  has 
the  power  to  deal  with  this  evil  by  means  of  a  prohibitive  tax, 
or  by  means  of  the  prohibition  of  interstate  and  foreign  com- 
merce in  the  poisonous  phosphorus  matches.  The  second 
remedy  was  believed  to  be  inadequate  to  the  situation,  since  it 
would  not  prevent  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  poisonous  phos- 
phorus matches  within  the  limits  of  any  state.     For  this  reason 

(550) 


No.  4]  NATIONAL  LABOR  LEGISLATION  77 

the  American  Association  for  Labor  Legislation  decided  to  urge 
upon  Congress  the  first  remedy,  a  prohibitive  tax.  To  this 
plan,  although  opposed  by  only  one  of  the  match  manu- 
facturers, grave  constitutional  objection  was  made.  It  was  held 
by  Judge  Underwood  and  by  several  other  of  the  most  enlight- 
ened members  of  Congress  that  to  use  the  taxing  power  to  put 
an  end  to  a  domestic  industry,  rather  than  to  secure  revenue 
for  the  federal  government,  was  a  perversion  of  this  power 
which,  though  permitted  under  numerous  decisions  of  the 
federal  courts,  was  yet  improper  for  Congress  to  exercise.  The 
conclusive  answer  to  this  objection  seems  to  me  to  be  that  a 
broad  construction  of  our  written  constitution  is  essential  to  the 
orderly  conduct  of  government  and  the  efficient  adaptation  of 
our  legal  machinery  to  the  changing  requirements  of  our  indus- 
trial and  social  life.  In  conferring  upon  Congress  the  taxing 
power,  the  framers  of  the  constitution  conferred  that  power 
without  any  limitations  as  to  its  exercise.  Repeatedly,  the 
courts  have  upheld  as  valid  an  exercise  of  that  power  designed 
to  regulate  and  even  to  prohibit  imports  or  domestic  transactions. 
Where  the  need  of  prohibition  through  national  legislation  can 
be  clearly  demonstrated,  as  in  this  case,  the  objection  that  the 
taxing  power  was  not  intended  for  this  purpose  seems  to  me 
academic.  This  was  the  view  finally  taken  by  the  great  majority 
of  the  members  of  Congress  after  the  matter  had  been  clearly 
presented  to  them  in  all  its  bearings.  In  the  House,  Judge 
Underwood,  who  spoke  strongly  against  the  bill  before  the  vote 
was  taken,  was  able  to  carry  only  twenty-nine  of  his  colleagues, 
so  loyal  to  his  leadership  in  connection  with  most  legislative 
proposals,  along  with  him.  On  the  Republican  side,  Mr.  Mann, 
the  Republican  leader,  was  the  only  one  to  have  his  vote 
recorded  against  the  bill.  In  the  Senate,  notwithstanding  the 
customary  opposition  of  Senator  Bailey,  the  bill  went  through 
by  viva  voce  vote. 

The  situation  presented  by  poisonous  phosphorus  matches 
was  no  doubt  unique,  and  yet  the  same  general  conditions  which 
made  national  legislation  desirable  in  this  case  already  present 
themselves  in  a  number  of  other  cases  that  will  certainly  be 
pressed  upon  the  attention  of  Congress  as  time  goes  on.     Con- 

(551) 


78  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.11 

sider,  for  example,  the  situation  with  reference  to  the  twelve- 
hour  day  in  American  steel  mills.  Employes  working  on  the 
twelve-hour  system  are  engaged  in  continuous  processes.  This 
means  that  the  only  practical  alternative  to  the  twelve-hour 
shift  is  the  eight-hour  shift.  The  steel-mill  owners  contend, 
and  with  seeming  truth,  that  they  cannot  change  from  the 
twelve-hour  day  to  the  eight-hour  day  without  making  some 
reduction  in  wages.  They  cannot,  that  is,  unless  all  of  them 
make  the  change  together.  In  this  industry,  labor  organizations 
which  might  be  looked  to  to  secure  a  uniform  work-day  for  the 
employes  of  different  employers  have  been  largely  eliminated. 
The  consequence  is  that  this  change,  so  vital  to  thousands  of 
American  wage-earners  and  their  families,  can  only  be  made 
voluntarily  by  the  employers  or  through  legislative  interference. 
I  do  not  wish  to  go  so  far  as  to  urge  that  the  time  is  ripe  for 
national  legislation  to  deal  with  this  situation.  I  do  contend, 
however,  that  state  legislation  is  inadequate  to  deal  with  it, 
because  competing  steel  mills  are  situated  in  different  states, 
and  it  is  unreasonable  to  ask  one  state  to  impose  this  handicap 
on  an  important  domestic  industry  when  in  other  states  no  such 
restriction  is  found. 

Or  take  another  example.  The  coal-mining  industry  is  car- 
ried on  in  many  different  states,  under  highly  competitive  con- 
ditions. This  is  one  of  the  most  dangerous  industries  in  the 
country.  State  regulations  looking  toward  the  elimination  of 
unsafe  conditions  and  greater  regard  to  the  life  and  health  of 
mine-workers  have  proved  quite  ineffective.  More  has  been 
accomplished  within  a  few  years  by  the  National  Bureau  of 
Mines,  attacking  the  problem  on  a  national  scale  and  relying 
entirely  on  voluntary  appeals  to  mine-owners  and  mine-workers 
to  cooperate  in  lessening  accident  risks  than  by  all  state  regula- 
tions taken  together.  At  the  meeting  of  the  American  Asso- 
ciation for  Labor  Legislation  held  at  Washington  last  December, 
the  proposal  was  made  that  a  Federal  Mining  Commission  be 
substituted  for  the  Bureau  of  Mines,  and  that  this  commission  be 
empowered  to  prescribe  conditions  of  safe  mining  which  must  be 
complied  with  by  all  operators  of  mines  in  the  United  States,  as  a 
condition  to  having  their  products  transhipped  across  state  lines. 

(552) 


No.  4]  NATIONAL  LABOR  LEGISLATION  yg 

This  is,  of  course,  a  very  advanced  proposal  and  many  conside- 
rations might  be  urged  against  it  until,  through  the  voluntary 
work  of  the  Bureau  of  Mines,  we  have  fuller  knowledge  than  we 
yet  possess  as  to  the  safety  conditions  that  might  reasonably  be 
prescribed.  That  such  a  plan,  however,  will  in  the  compara- 
tively near  future  be  urged  upon  Congress  as  a  practical  and 
desirable  policy,  can  hardly  be  doubted,  and  when  it  is  brought 
forward  as  a  practical  proposal,  shall  we  not  all  have  to  agree 
that  here  too  national  labor  legislation  is  needed  to  afford  to 
the  wage-earners  of  the  country  the  protection  to  which  they 
are  entitled  under  a  humane  and  progressive  government? 

I  might  enumerate  other  examples.  The  need  of  a  uniform 
child-labor  law,  imposing  minimum  requirements  on  all  the  in- 
dustries of  all  the  states,  has  already  been  urged  upon  Congress 
in  the  so-called  Beveridge  Bill  and  will  undoubtedly  continue  to 
be  a  political  issue.  In  fact,  wherever  the  case  in  favor  of  the 
regulation  of  labor  conditions  by  law  can  be  clearly  and  con- 
vincingly established  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  great  majority  of 
our  citizens,  the  practical  and  effective  method  of  legislation 
will  usually  be  found  to  be  national  legislation.  Through  use 
of  the  taxing  power  and  the  power  to  regulate  interstate  and 
foreign  commerce.  Congress  may  as  rapidly  as  it  chooses  impose 
regulations  on  our  important  national  industries.  The  thought 
I  wish  to  emphasize  is,  that  as  our  industries  become  more  and 
more  national,  transcending  state  lines  in  their  operations,  and 
as  our  knowledge  in  regard  to  the  regulations  that  ought  to 
be  imposed  becomes  better,  national  labor  legislation  com- 
parable with  the  national  labor  legislation  of  the  United  King- 
dom, Germany  and  the  other  progressive  countries  of  Europe 
will  be  more  and  more  a  great  national  need. 

(553) 


NEXT  STEPS  IN  THE  CHILD  LABOR  CAMPAIGN^ 
OWEN   R.  LOVEJOY 

Secretary  National  Child  Labor  Committee 

FROM  the  national  point  of  view,  the  first  important  question 
regarding  child  labor  is,  how  much  is  there  in  America? 
There  is  more  than  ever  at  any  one  time  in  any  other 
nation  of  the  western  world.  There  are  no  comprehensive  sta- 
tistics later  than  those  of  1900,  which  showed  1,750,180  work- 
ing children  between  10  and  15  years  of  age. 

Second,  we  want  to  know  why  we  have  child  labor.  This 
question  would  lead  us  to  a  consideration  of  problems  of  pov- 
erty, ignorance,  self-interest  of  employers  as  well  as  of  parents, 
and  lack  of  constructive  opportunities  to  fill  in  the  otherwise 
vacuous  life  of  many  young  people.  Of  persons  directly  re- 
sponsible there  are  three  classes :  employers,  parents  and  chil- 
dren. Of  course  the  majority  of  all  these  three  classes  are 
opposed  to  child  labor ;  but  so  far  as  it  has  supporters  they  be- 
long ordinarily  to  these  three  groups. 

In  the  third  place,  we  need  analysis  and  discrimination.  Not 
all  kinds  of  child  labor  are  bad.  We  have  no  objection  to  a  boy 
of  fifteen  years  working  eight  hours  a  day  at  a  good  trade  which 
offers  a  fair  wage  and  gives  a  chance  for  advancement ;  but  we 
do  believe  that,  despite  all  efforts  to  make  work  beautiful,  there 
is  no  way  in  which  we  can  so  idealize  and  beautify  a  ten-hour 
day  in  a  factory  for  a  fourteen-year-old  child  as  to  make  the  two 
elements  harmonize.  We  believe  girls  ought  to  learn  to  sweep 
and  take  care  of  the  baby,  to  wash  dishes  so  constructively  that 
they  can  be  washed  again,  to  prepare  food  and  serve  it,  to  prac- 
tise all  these  household  arts  and  many  other  arts ;  and  these 
tasks  ought  to  be  made  beautiful.  Some  of  them  do  mean  hard 
work,  but  they  can  be  so  filled  with  significance  that  they  will 

^  Read  at  the  meeting  of  the  Academy  of  Political  Science,  April  19,  1912. 

(554) 


THE  CHILD  LABOR  CAMPAIGN  8 1 

attract  the  girl.  Regardless  of  so-called  social  classes,  every 
child  should  learn  at  the  earliest  possible  age  the  dignity  and 
honor,  as  well  as  necessity,  of  hard  work ;  but  we  must  draw  a 
line  somewhere,  a  line  which  is  necessary  partly  on  physiolog- 
ical and  partly  on  psychological  grounds.  We  may  develop 
a  wholesome  relation  of  the  child  to  education  or  to  household 
duties,  but  there  is  no  relationship  that  can  be  made  wholesome 
between  a  twelve-year-old  girl  and  a  cotton-spinning  frame  for 
twelve  hours  a  day  or  twelve  hours  a  night,  however  we  adjust 
it  or  attempt  to  idealize  that  spinning  frame  or  cotton  mill,  and 
however  we  talk  about  its  beautiful  lights  flashing  through  the 
darkness,  and  the  luxurious  hum  of  its  perfectly-adjusted  ma- 
chinery, and  the  high  colors  of  the  fabrics  being  woven  by  the 
machinery.  When  we  try  to  adjust  a  twelve-year-old  girl  to  it 
we  prostitute  the  divine  element  in  that  girl's  nature.  So  there 
are  certain  lines  of  a  so-called  repressive  nature,  whether  we  may 
have  any  constructive  opportunities  for  a  twelve-year-old  child 
or  not;  whether  or  not  we  can  provide  a  campfire  or  industrial 
training  or  a  well-ventilated  schoolhouse.  I  protest  that  idle- 
ness, broken  by  such  exercise  and  activities  as  the  child  will  dis- 
cover for  himself  if  they  are  not  provided  for  him,  is  better  for 
a  twelve-year-old  child  than  a  twelve-hour  day  in  a  mine,  a 
cotton  mill,  a  glass  factory,  a  sweatshop  or  one  of  the  ordinary 
street  trades,  which  are  considered  by  careful  students  of  the 
problem  the  most  injurious  of  all  child  occupations.  Therefore, 
we  need  discrimination. 

In  analyzing  and  breaking  up  the  problem  we  find  we  also 
break  up  the  army  of  people  opposed  to  child  labor;  this  offers 
a  difficult  problem  to  the  constructive  student  of  this  social 
question.  For  example,  no  right-minded  citizen  will  say  he 
believes  in  child  labor.  It  is  only  when  you  break  up  your 
problem  into  its  constituent  elements  that  you  begin  to  lose 
your  adherents.  The  cotton  manufacturer  thinks  the  coal  oper- 
ator inexcusable  for  allowing  little  breaker-boys  ten,  twelve  or 
fourteen  years  old  to  bend  over  nine  hours  a  day  picking  slate. 
He  would  not  do  it.  But  he  knows  that  the  boys  and  girls  who 
have  come  down  from  the  mountains  of  the  South,  and  thus 
escaped  the  ravages  of  the  hookworm,  are  immeasurably  blessed 

(555) 


82  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.  II 

by  working  ten  or  twelve  hours  a  day  or  night  in  his  cotton 
mill.  In  the  same  way  the  coal  operator  would  not  be  guilty  of 
employing  little  boys  every  night  every  other  week  in  the  glass 
factory ;  that  is  intolerable.  But  it  is  all  right  to  let  these  little 
Polish  and  Italian  boys  bend  over  the  coal  chute,  because  they 
are  foreigners,  anyway — and  besides,  coal  cannot  be  mined 
without  them.  The  preachers  in  the  coal  regions  are  all  op- 
posed to  the  iniquity  of  employing  little  boys  in  the  coal  break- 
ers, are  they  not?  No,  to  the  iniquity  of  Sunday  base  ball; 
that  is  their  text. 

The  glass  manufacturer  is  sure  the  cotton  manufacturer  and 
the  coal  operator  are  exploiters,  but  that  a  boy  employed  at 
the  feet  of  the  glass  blower  is  getting  the  best  kind  of  industrial 
training,  and  therefore  child  labor  in  the  glass  house  is  a  social 
benefit.  So  the  newspaper  men  are  all  against  child  labor,  but 
not  against  the  child  laborer  carrying  papers  on  the  streets. 
The  farmers  are  against  it,  but  not  on  the  farm.  The  people 
in  this  city  are  all  opposed  to  child  labor,  but  suppose  you  try 
to  put  an  end  to  the  employment  of  children  in  perhaps  13,000 
or  15,000  homes  in  New  York  city,  in  the  kinds  of  home  work 
now  absolutely  beyond  the  scope  of  law.  No  matter  how 
watertight  we  try  to  make  the  law,  no  matter  how  many  in- 
spectors we  appoint,  it  is  absolutely  impossible  to  regulate  home 
work  so  long  as  we  have  families  employed  in  their  homes  in 
making  articles  for  commerce.  Child  labor  cannot  be  regu- 
lated. But  suppose  you  pass  a  law  to  put  an  end  to  that — do 
you  think  the  people  of  New  York  would  stand  for  such  pro- 
tection of  the  children?  They  would  immediately  tell  you  that 
you  will  starve  some  poor  widow.  So  we  break  up  our  army ; 
we  lose  our  friends. 

In  the  fourth  place,  we  must  study  the  social  effects  of  child 
labor,  and  I  have  not  time  to  do  more  than  indicate  them.  As 
to  health,  we  know  from  the  few  scattered  reports  that  child 
laborers  are  more  often  injured  by  industrial  occupations  than 
adults. 

The  effect  on  education  we  know.  The  two  are  incompatible. 
Where  child  labor  thrives  education  declines.  When  measures 
are   taken   that   put  an   effective  restriction  upon  child   labor, 

(556) 


No.  4]  THE  CHILD  LABOR  CAMPAIGN  gj 

education  advances.  A  few  years  ago  we  were  told  by  the 
southern  cotton  manufacturers  that  it  was  not  necessary  to  have 
inspectors,  because  no  child  could  be  employed  legally  under 
twelve  years  of  age,  and  because  they  had  a  gentlemen's  agree- 
ment to  obey  that  law.  Finally  a  factory  inspector  was  ap- 
pointed for  South  Carolina,  and  in  the  first  three  months  he 
took  out  of  the  cotton  mills  of  the  state  more  than  fifteen  hun- 
dred little  boys  and  girls  illegally  employed.  That  was  only 
an  incidental  benefit  of  his  work.  The  real  constructive  work 
is  that  there  has  been  an  epidemic  of  schoolhouse  building  in 
South  Carolina  ever  since. 

What  of  the  effect  on  morals?  If  I  had  time  to  debate  the 
old  proposition  that  ''  Satan  finds  some  mischief  still  for  idle 
hands  to  do,"  I  would  show  you  that  a  larger  proportion  of 
working  children  get  into  the  toils  of  the  law  than  of  so- 
called  idle  children,  who  are  getting  an  education  and  having 
fun.  These  latter  children  escape  arrest,  escape  the  reform- 
atory, escape  the  juvenile  court,  because  their  lives  are  filled 
with  the  imaginative,  with  the  constructive,  with  the  beautiful 
of  which  Dr.  Gulick  has  spoken.  We  ought  to  have  more  of 
these  things.  I  should  like  every  child  in  the  country  decorated 
with  a  garland  about  the  brow,  to  show  that  we  still  maintain 
the  faith  that  every  child  bears  the  divine  image.  We  need 
that.  But  the  children  who  go  into  the  factories  and  sweatshops 
and  street  trades  are  the  children  who  fall  below  the  moral  level 
and  get  into  trouble. 

We  need  also  to  study  the  effect  of  child  labor  upon  our 
standards  of  living  and  wages.  We  need  to  learn  how  far  the 
competition  of  the  ignorant,  inefficient  child  breaks  down  the 
standards  of  wages  and  family  income.  The  connection  is  defi- 
nite and  direct,  as  can  be  amply  proved. 

In  the  fifth  place,  we  need  agencies  and  equipment  to  handle 
these  specific  problems.  I  am  not  one  of  those  critics  of  the 
church  who  argue  that  every  church  ought  to  become  a  body 
|of  investigators  and  agitators  to  remove  these  specific  abuses. 
A  church  of  fifteen  hundred  members  cannot  constitute  itself 
an  investigation  committee  on  child  welfare  in  its  community. 
It  is  not  trained  for  it.     When  my  plumbing  is  out  of  order  I 

(557) 


84  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK  [Vol.11 

send  for  a  trained  plumber.  We  have  a  committee  organized 
to  handle  these  detailed  questions  that  require  expert  training 
and  to  act  as  agent  for  the  church.  What  we  want  of  the 
church  and  all  other  religious,  moral  and  social  organizations, 
is  the  moral  and  financial  support  to  help  do  the  work. 

We  need  specific  agents  for  investigation  and  for  drafting 
laws.  The  average  citizen  does  not  know  how  to  draft  any  kind 
of  a  law ;  that  task  needs  training.  We  need  men  trained  in 
promoting  legislation  and  many  other  specific  tasks  which  re- 
quire special  training. 

We  need  to  study  efficient  administration.  I  have  a  letter 
from  a  man  in  Massachusetts  saying,  **  The  factory  inspectors 
in  this  community  are  old  soldiers,  and  the  truant  officers  are 
janitors,  and  the  whole  child-labor  law  and  compulsory  educa- 
tion law  in  this  town  are  jokes."  Similar  complaints  come  from 
all  parts  of  the  country.  We  need  to  study  that  situation  and 
find  how  extensive  it  is.  There  is  no  use  simply  getting  good 
laws  on  our  statute  books.  If  we  need  good  laws  we  need  yet 
more  their  careful,  efficient,  systematic  enforcement. 

We  need  also  the  arousing  of  public  sentiment,  through 
speeches,  newspapers,  magazines,  and  all  agencies  of  publicity. 
This  is  shown  by  the  complete  victory  that  has  just  come  after 
a  five-years*  campaign  on  the  part  of  the  National  Child  Labor 
Committee  to  get  the  federal  government  to  establish  a  chil- 
dren's bureau.  After  that  bill  was  drafted,  nearly  six  years  ago, 
the  National  Child  Labor  Committee  took  it  up,  and  we  have 
been  agitating  for  it  ever  since.  Finding  that  general  agitation 
did  very  little  good,  we  placed  a  lobbyist  in  Washington  and 
kept  him  there  for  four  years,  canvassing  every  man  who  came 
to  Washington  and  finding  what  support  we  could  get.  We 
drew  into  this  campaign  churches,  women's  clubs,  manufac- 
turers' associations,  labor  unions  and  other  organizations  that 
have  reached  an  immensely  larger  public  than  we  could  reach, 
and  an  aroused  public  interest  carried  the  bill  through.  The 
children's  bureau  has  been  established,  and  day  before  yester- 
day the  President  appointed  the  best  man  in  America  as  its 
chief — Miss  Julia  C.  Lathrop.  Our  victory  is  won.  We  have 
tried  to  secure  better  laws  in  the  different  states,  and  during  the 

(558) 


No.  4]  THE  CHILD  LABOR  CAMPAIGN  8$ 

past  eight  years  thirty-eight  states  have  strengthened  their  laws, 
no  less  than  thirty  legislating  last  year. 

We  must  cooperate  with  all  other  special  agencies  for  child 
welfare.  We  can  cooperate  with  the  Campfire  Girls  and  the  Boy 
Scouts,  the  Playground  Association  and  the  vocational  guidance 
workers,  for  it  is  all  one  problem.  Though  we  cannot  separate 
the  problem  into  its  constituent  elements,  each  group  of  workers 
must  push  its  own  part  of  the  task  and  do  it  by  special  and  well- 
directed  effort. 

(559) 


BUDGETARY  PROVISION  FOR  SOCIAL  NEEDS  ^ 

WILLIAM    H.    ALLEN 
Director  New  York  Bureau  of  Municipal  Research 

THREE  momentous  budgetary  opportunities  now  confront 
social  workers :  the  national  budget's  provision  for 
economy  and  efficiency ;  the  New  York  city  budget  esti- 
mates for  191 3;  and  the  congressional  bill  for  chartering  the 
Rockefeller  Foundation.  Each  of  these  opportunities  typifies  a 
condition  which  prevails  throughout  the  country;  i.  e.,  our  vision 
of  social  needs  has  far^outstripped  our  means  and  our  habit  of 
cooperating  to  meet  these  needs.  A  few  minutes  given  by 
social  workers  in  April  19 12  to  these  three  opportunities 
would  do  more  good  than  millions  of  dollars  and  hundreds  of 
mass  meetings  given  to  the  same  subjects  next  December. 

The  same  change  is  needed  to  give  to  the  Rockefeller 
Foundation  bill  the  united  aggressive  support  of  social  workers 
and  givers  as  is  needed  to  arouse  them  to  the  aggravation  of 
social  needs  which  must  follow  neglect  to  register  the  judgment 
of  social  workers  in  favor  of  the  other  two  enormous  possible 
benefactions  above  mentioned :  (a)  the  national  efficiency  and 
economy  program  and  (b)  an  adequate  budget  for  meeting 
New  York  city's  social  needs  in  191 3. 

There  is  hardly  a  social  agency  in  the  United  States  that 
aims  at  efficiency  that  has  not  tried  to  secure  support  from 
Mr.  Rockefeller.  Colleges,  charities,  voters'  leagues,  hospitals, 
settlements,  churches — one  and  all  are  to  be  found  among  Mr. 
Rockefeller's  regular  correspondents.  One  and  all  are  offered 
now,  through  a  bill  to  charter  the  Rockefeller  Foundation, 
joint  responsibility  for  spending  a  fund  of  at  least  one  million, 
perhaps  five  million  dollars  a  year.  The  deed  of  gift  says  in 
effect:  "We  want  this  money  used  for  public  welfare.  There 
is  no  restriction  upon  its  use  except  that  it  shall  be  for  the 

•Read  at  the  meeting  of  the  Academy  of  Political  Science,  April  i8,  1912. 

(560) 


BUDGETARY  PROVISION  FOR  SOCIAL  NEEDS  87 

public  welfare.  We  want  it  spent  according  to  the  best-informed 
suggestion  and  most  enlightened  criticism  of  those  familiar  with 
social  needs." 

Yet  so  unaccustomed  are  we  to  thinking  about  our  work  in 
terms  of  the  way  government  does  its  business  that  we  have 
not  in  this  matter  of  the  Rockefeller  Foundation  connected  our 
judgment  and  wishes  with  the  national  machinery  necessary 
to  give  them  effect.  I  mean  that  we  have  not  let  Congress  know 
that  we  believe  it  should  pass  this  act  of  incorporation,  and 
that  we  want  such  passing  done  in  the  name  of  human  welfare 
and  not  as  a  courtesy  to  Mr.  Rockefeller  and  the  distinguished 
legislators  who  sponsor  the  bill.  If  you  can  explain  why  you 
and  I  have  not  spent  two  cents  and  ten  minutes  writing  our 
opinion  to  our  congressman  or  senator  in  support  of  this  huge 
welfare  fund,  I  can  explain  why  so  many  of  us  overlook  other 
budgetary  opportunities, 

A  second  great  opportunity  which  most  of  us  will  lose  relates 
to  an  item  of  $200,000  which  Congress  has  been  asked  to  insert 
in  its  budget  for  next  year  for  continuing  the  work  of  the 
President's  commission  on  economy  and  efficiency.  No  one 
doubts  that  more  efficiency  and  more  economy  are  needed  in 
national  departments.  Everyone  concedes  that  millions  upon 
millions  could  be  saved  whether  or  not  Senator  Aldrich  over- 
estimated the  present  waste  when  he  said  he  could  save  $300,- 
000,000  a  year  if  given  an  opportunity  to  put  efficiency  methods 
at  work  in  national  departments.  Nobody  denies  that  the 
efficiency  work  which  began  two  years  ago  under  the  direction 
of  Dr.  F.  A.  Cleveland,  chairman  of  the  President's  commission, 
has  already  saved  many  times  its  cost  and  has  laid  the  basis  for 
saving  millions  next  year. 

Yet  practically  without  protest  from  the  social-worker  clan, 
the  majority  in  Congress  actually  proposes  to  cut  out  the  $200,- 
000  necessary  to  cure  the  disease  of  incompetence  in  national 
business  which  these  days  does  infinitely  more  harm  than  small- 
pox or  cholera.  Men  learned  in  the  laws  of  political  psychology 
talk  wisely  of  what  the  people  want  and  do  not  want,  and  say : 
''  If  we  cut  out  the  $200,000,  the  masses  are  simple  enough  to 
give  us  credit  for  a  saving  of  $200,000.     If  we  leave  it  in,  the 

(561) 


88  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.11 

masses  will  see  the  $200,000  with  big  eyes  and  will  give  us  no 
credit  for  our  intended  saving  of  millions."  Just  think  of  its 
being  possible  in  April  191 2  for  such  assertions  to  go  unchal- 
lenged by  the  very  group  which  best  of  all  in  the  country  per- 
haps is  able  to  picture  what  one  million  or  five  millions  or  ten 
millions  a  year  will  buy  if  spent  in  meeting  social  needs.  Think 
of  what  even  one  million  dollars  a  year  spent  efficiently  by  the 
national  government  on  education  and  health  would  do  to 
reduce  the  call  for  local  charities  and  corrections,  hospitals  and 
the  like. 

There  is  still  time  for  social  workers  and  philanthropists  to 
secure  letters  to  congressmen  and  representatives,  and  to  interest 
editors,  commercial  bodies  and  city  clubs  in  making  it  under- 
stood that  this  national  budgetary  provision  of  $200,000  for 
efficiency  in  spending  a  billion  dollars  a  year  is  an  urgent  need 
for  every  locality  and  every  kind  of  uplift  work. 

The  commission's  studies  relating  to  processes,  organization, 
personnel  and  supplies  have  already  specifically  located  op- 
portunities to  save  millions  as  follows:  $1,000,000  can  be  saved 
by  omitting  needless  steps  in  handling  mail;  $250,000  can  be 
saved  by  using  window  envelopes;  $100,000  by  using  multi- 
graph  processes ;  $50,000  by  discontinuing  the  affidavits  ap- 
pended to  personal  expense  vouchers;  $500,000  by  merely 
securing  the  usual  reductions  in  purchasing  railroad  tickets,  as 
by  return  trips ;  millions  by  standardizing  20,000  supply  items ; 
by  extending  (from  9,000  items  before  standardization  to  30,000 
after)  the  standardizing  of  supplies,  specifications,  contracts  and 
method  of  inspection  ;  millions  more  by  consolidation  of  related 
service. 

$200,000  is  needed  next  year : 

a.  To  retain  intact  the  group  of  experts  who  have  been  slowly 
gathered  with  congressional  approval  during  the  last  two  years, 
who  are  now  practised  in  **  team-work,"  and  whose  dispersal 
would  be  a  grievous  loss  to  the  nation. 

b.  To  utilize  facts  already  collected  throug:h  expenditure  of 
the  former  appropriation  of  $200,000  and  through  the  collabo- 
ration of  fully  2,000  employes  and  officials  who  have  been 
brought  to  cooperate  with  the  commission. 

(562) 


No.  4]    BUDGETARY  PROVISION  FOR  SOCIAL  NEEDS  89 

c.  To  utilize  also  facts  that  are  in  rapid  process  of  collection 
through  improved  methods  of  accounting  and  reporting  already- 
installed  as  the  result  of  this  efficiency  work. 

d.  To  assist  department  and  division  heads  in  the  administra- 
tive improvements  declared  by  all  to  be  necessary. 

Congress  has  already  been  urged  by  three  special  messages 
to  give  the  efficiency  work  unanimous  non-political,  non-par- 
tisan support.  Putting  national  departments  on  an  efficiency 
basis  has  been  unqualifiedly  favored  by  Democratic,  Republican 
and  independent  papers. 

The  only  avowed  reasons  for  opposing  the  measure  are: 
(a)  a  $200,000  appropriation  should  be  saved;  (b)  work 
should  be  done  by  congressional  committees;  (c)  work  should 
be  done  by  departments.  In  answer  to  these  reasons  there  is 
ample  evidence  to  prove  that : 

a.  It  will  cost  millions  in  191 3,  and  each  year  thereafter,  to 
save  this  $200,000;  many  times  $200,000  were  saved  in  191 1 
and  have  already  been  saved  in  191 2,  through  use  made  of 
information  furnished  to  Congress  by  the  commission — and  not 
otherwise  available. 

b.  This  is  work  that  can  be  done  only  by  one  continuing, 
central,  technical  body,  and  cannot  be  done  by  numerous  con- 
gressional committees.  Such  committees  have  been  compara- 
tively futile  because  they  have  been  unable  to  get  enough  facts 
and  have  never  had  the  continuity  needful  for  success.  Follow- 
up  work  that  rebuilds  is  quite  as  important  as  investigation  that 
discloses  the  need  for  rebuilding. 

c.  The  departments  are  already  doing  much.  They  will  do 
vastly  more  if  stimulated  and  guided  by  a  central  body  of  ex- 
perts armed  with  authority  to  enforce  uniform,  appropriate, 
modern  business  methods. 

The  fulfilment  of  platform  and  campaign  pledges  in  191 3 
will  be  practically  impossible  without  such  information  as  this 
work  is  accumulating.  The  continuance  of  the  present  effi- 
ciency work  is  an  indispensable  asset  to  Democrats  and  Repub- 
licans alike. 

The  business  man's  patriotic  interest  in  national  business  is 
reason  enough  for  continuing  this  work  for  efficiency  in  national 

(563) 


90  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK  [Vol.11 

departments.  But  in  addition,  the  citizen  knows  that  putting 
national  departments  on  a  modern  efficiency  basis  must  in  in- 
numerable ways  benefit  private  business  and  give  tremendous 
impetus  to  efficiency  in  city,  county  and  state  business  through- 
out the  country. 

Fortunately  New  York  city's  citizens  are  not  voiceless  as  to 
budgetary  provisions  for  that  city's  social  needs.  But  this  year 
we  must  act  earlier  than  usual.  National  and  state  campaigns 
will  make  it  almost  impossible  to  secure  public  audience  for 
discussion  of  social  needs  and  budgetary  provisions  after  June. 
Prompt  action  between  now  and  June  will  pay  huge  dividends. 
If  we  give  the  city  government  the  benefit  of  definite  knowledge 
possessed  by  us  respecting  social  needs  not  yet  met  by  different 
departments,  the  best  results  will  come  from  pointing  out  gaps 
between  what  the  public  agree  ought  to  be  done  through  gov- 
ernment and  what  it  is  actually  getting  done  through  govern- 
ment. Here  and  there  is  a  social  need  which  no  government 
department  has  yet  undertaken  to  meet  and  which  it  is  worth 
while  trying  to  lodge  upon  the  shoulders  of  taxpayers.  Even 
here,  however,  success  requires  that  the  interest  of  the  right 
department  be  enlisted  before  that  department  submits  its  bud- 
get estimates  next  July. 

It  is  most  exceptional  that  discussions  of  budget  estimates 
ever  add  to  requests  made  by  departments.  They  frequently 
subtract  from  such  requests.  If,  therefore,  we  wish  departments 
in  191 3  to  do  work  never  yet  undertaken  or  to  do  more  of  cer- 
tain kinds  of  work  already  undertaken,  the  time  for  us  to  pre- 
sent our  facts  to  departments  and  to  the  public  is  between  now 
and  June  first. 

The  greatest  social  worker  in  New  York  is  the  city  govern- 
ment; the  only  picture  we  ever  get  of  what  the  city  government 
plans  to  do  and  is  asked  to  do  is  the  annual  budget  estimate ;  the 
time  to  get  needs  into  estimates  is  now;  the  time  to  explain 
needs  is  now ;  although  the  budget  is  voted  in  October  all  the 
time  between  now  and  October  is  required  to  inform  the  public 
about  budgetary  provisions  for  social  needs. 

Another  set  of  facts  needs  emphasis :  each  agency's  budget 
is  all   it  has  to  spend  plus  what  the  city  spends  in  all  depart- 

(564) 


No.  4]    BUDGETARY  PROVISION  FOR  SOCIAL  NEEDS  g  i 

ments ;  every  act  of  government  relieves  or  aggravates  a  social 
need;  the  most  effective  philanthropy  is  that  which  supple- 
ments and  inspires  government  action;  the  least  effective 
philanthropy  is  that  which  tries  to  take  the  place  of  work  pro- 
vided for  in  the  city's  budget ;  the  monthly  loss  of  life  in  New 
York  city  from  preventable  causes  is  greater  than  the  Titanic's 
loss ;  the  worst  diseases  are  in  people's  attitude  toward  govern- 
ment ;  the  only  agency  able  to  do  educational  work  on  a  large 
enough  scale  to  change  anti-social  attitude  toward  government 
is  government ;   the  only  means  is  budgetary  provision. 

To  make  our  local  city  government  discharge  efficiently  its 
duties  as  our  social-worker-in-chief,  we  need  the  enactment  of 
a  charter  for  the  Rockefeller  Foundation;  we  need  the  ap- 
propriation by  Congress  of  $200,000  for  continuing  the 
economy  and  efficiency  work  in  national  departments ;  and  we 
need  the  interest  of  the  social-worker  group,  including  philan- 
thropists who  support  social  work,  in  the  steps  between  now 
and  June  upon  which  will  depend  next  year's  budgetary  pro- 
visions for  social  needs  in  Greater  New  York. 

(565) 


AN  INTERPRETATION  OF  VOCATIONAL  GUIDANCE 

BY   ALICE   PRENTICE   BARROWS 

The  Vocational  Guidance  Survey 

NO  one  ever  thinks  until  he  has  to,  and  he  does  not  have 
to  until  things  go  wrong.  Sometimes,  however,  he 
gets  a  warning  that  they  are  about  to  go  wrong. 
Whether  he  acts  upon  the  warning  depends  upon  whether  he 
has  formed  the  habit  of  putting  two  and  two  together.  The 
sudden  cry  for  vocational  guidance  is  a  warning  to  take  thought 
in  a  complex  and  disturbing  situation.  It  announces  the  pre- 
liminary struggle  between  industry  and  the  schools ;  it  is  the 
cry,  "They're  at  it!"  We  may  rush  panting  to  the  rescue 
with  all  the  paraphernalia  of  aids  to  the  injured  after  one  or  the 
other  combatant  is  down ;  we  may  get  control  of  the  weapon  of 
one  of  them;  or  we  may  call  a  halt  and  say,  **  What  is  all  this 
about,  anyway?"  In  other  words,  the  plea  for  vocational 
guidance  may  herald  a  great  democratic  revolution  in  education, 
or  it  may  sound  its  death-knell. 

Some  years  ago  business  descended  upon  the  schools  and 
captured  commercial  education.  The  reason  for  the  assault  is 
easily  understood.  The  schools  were  said  not  to  be  ''  prac- 
tical." They  did  not  prepare  for  life,  which  was  spelled  ''  busi- 
ness." But  the  attempt  to  graft  a  narrow  commercial  education 
onto  a  little-understood  general  curriculum  was  probably  the 
most  impractical  thing  ever  started  by  ''  business."  It  resulted  in 
compressing  education  into  tabloid  form  for  the  consumption  of 
employers.  It  turned  out  children  who  were  too  early  and  too 
superficially  specialized  to  remain  efficient  when  they  got  out 
into  the  struggle  for  life.  If  that  experiment  proved  anything. 
it  proved  that  education  is  an  organic,  not  a  mechanical  thing, 
and  that  to  try  to  train  children  by  suddenly  '*  tacking  on " 
highly  specialized  courses  to  an  unrelated  general  curriculum 
violates  the  processes  of  nature.  A  child  simply  does  not  grow 
that  way.     Now  vocational  guidance  is  the  popular  warning  of 

(566) 


I 


VOCATIONAL  GUIDANCE  93 

the  same  danger  in  regard  to  vocational  training,  particularly- 
industrial  vocational  training.  Vocational  guidance  is  not  yet  a 
program.  It  is  only  an  exclamation  of  dismay,  perhaps  of 
prophecy.     What  it  may  become  remains  to  be  seen. 

This  is  not  the  usual  interpretation  of  vocational  guidance,  but 
the  history  of  its  rise  and  the  causes  of  its  appearance  will  per- 
haps show  the  reasons  for  its  various  interpretations  and  sug- 
gest which  one  is  most  fundamental  and  far-reaching  in  its 
possibilities. 

It  is  significant  of  the  present  uncrystallized  state  of  this 
movement  that  the  words  vocational  guidance  and  vocational 
training  are  often  used  interchangeably,  and  that  the  terms 
industrial  education,  decay  of  the  apprenticeship  system,  blind- 
alley  occupations,  and  need  of  a  lifework  are  all  tangled  up 
with  this  ill-defined  phrase  vocational  guidance.  And  they  are 
all  bandied  about  in  conferences  and  discussions  in  a  loose  and 
solemn  fashion,  to  the  despair  of  those  who  want  to  know  what 
it  is  all  about.  It  were  well  if  we  could  throw  all  these  hack- 
neyed terms  overboard,  and  start  with  a  clean  slate,  go  straight 
to  the  facts  and  draw  our  conclusions  freshly  from  them. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  the  rise  of  vocational  guidance 
in  this  country  differs  from  its  rise  in  Europe,  and  that  if  we 
are  going  to  understand  its  development,  we  must  study  it  with 
relation  to  American  conditions,  temperament,  and  institutions, 
rather  than  with  respect  to  its  evolution  in  an  older  country. 
I  have  in  mind  two  stories  which  are  true  and  which  give  vividly 
the  history  of  the  changing  social  conditions  that  made  the  cry 
of  vocational  guidance  to  be  heard  in  the  land. 

The  first  is  the  story  of  a  man  who  probably  represents  the 
finest  type  that  America  has  yet  produced.  He  was  brought 
up  in  the  state  of  Maine,  that  land  of  pine-trees  and  granite 
rocks,  wild  roses  and  a  restless  sea.  In  its  sun  warmth  and 
under  its  free  skies  he  grew  up  without  fear  or  favor,  stalwart 
of  figure,  slow  of  speech,  keen-eyed,  with  that  humorous, 
shrewd  appreciation  of  human  foibles  so  characteristic  of  the 
sons  of  that  democratic  state. 

I  left  school  to  go  to  work  when  I  was  eleven  years  old,  he  said.     I 

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94  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK  [Vol.11 

got  all  my  education  in  the  little  red  schoolhouse  and  in  the  school  of 
life — and  a  great  school  that  was,  too.  We  didn't  have  anything  but 
reading,  writing  and  arithmetic,  and  an  occasional  whipping  in  the  little 
red  schoolhouse,  but  outside  we  got  hard  knocks.  I  remember  I  began 
as  a  clerk  in  a  country  store.  I  had  to  do  everything  in  that  store. 
Pretty  soon  I  knew  everybody  in  the  village.  I  had  a  whack  at  every- 
thing going — fooled  around  the  carpenter  shop  (it  kind  of  fascinated 
me),  hung  around  the  blacksmith  shop  after  hours,  and  did  a  little 
farming  for  Farmer  Higgins  before  the  store  opened.  I'll  never  forget 
when  I  was  doing  odd  jobs  for  the  old  man.  The  bull  got  acting  up 
and  I  caught  him  by  the  tail.  Whew  !  Only  thing  I  remember  after 
that  was  old  Higgins  saying  solemnly  to  me,  **  Remember,  my  son,  al- 
ways to  seize  the  horns  of  a  difficulty — never  the  tail."  Well,  I  could 
turn  my  hand  to  about  anything  in  that  village.  We  had  good  times, 
too.  There  was  the  baseball  team,  and  there  were  the  church  sociables, 
the  husking  bees  and  the  skating  in  winter. 

By  seventeen  I  was  running  that  store,  and  then  another  boy  and  I 
went  into  partnership  and  started  one  of  our  own.  I'll  never  forget 
how  proud  I  was  when  I  saw  my  name  on  the  sign-board.  We  moved 
to  a  small  town,  but  we  didn't  lose  our  old  customers,  because  I  got  a 
horse  and  buggy  and  took  orders  all  over  the  countryside.  Just  before 
the  Civil  War  we  moved  up  to  Boston.  I  gave  up  the  store  business 
and  went  into  manufacturing.  I  had  always  been  fond  of  machinery, 
used  to  tinker  with  tools  around  the  farm,  and  pretty  soon  I  worked 
out  a  machine  that  saved  time  in  our  business,  and  that  landed  me  in 
New  York. 

Yes,  it  was  hard  work,  all  of  it,  but  somehow  in  those  days  we  always 
had  time  for  another  side  of  life — for  sitting  on  the  village  bridge  in  the 
moonlight  spouting  poetry,  and  for  lying  in  the  fields  in  summer  swap- 
ping yarns,  or  for  sitting  hunched  up  over  the  open  fire  in  winter  telling 
each  other  how  we  were  going  to  be  Daniel  Websters.  It  was  good 
fun — life  was,  then.  If  you  worked  hard  it  was  your  own  fault,  but 
somehow  you  wanted  to  work  because  you  kept  discovering  things  faster 
than  you  could  say  **  Jack  Robinson."  But  boys  aren't  like  what  they 
used  to  be.     They  don't  seem  to  have  any  ambition. 

The  second  boy  lived  about  fifty  years  after  the  first  boy  w^as 
born.  His  home  was  on  the  lower  west  side  of  New  York  city, 
the  great  manufacturing  center  of  the  city.  It  is  the  region  of 
giant  factories  with  hundreds  of  workers,  and  of  huge  tenements 
with  a  bewildering  multitude  of  families.     Most  of  the  things 

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No.  4]  VOCATIONAL  GUIDANCE  95 

that  the  boy  eats  or  wears  or  plays  with  are  made  here,  and 
these  things  are  also  made  for  hundreds  of  thousands  of  other 
boys  ^nd  girls  and  men  and  women  all  over  the  country.  It  is, 
at  the  same  time,  more  like  a  village  than  any  other  part  of  the 
city.  It  is  a  place  of  winding,  irregular  streets,  quiet,  sunny 
side-streets  of  playing  boys  and  girls,  and  unexpected  horse- 
cars ;  streets  of  roaring  **  elevateds"  and  congested  truck  traffic. 
And  on  these  streets  you  come  suddenly  upon  beautiful  old  col- 
onial mansions  whose  exquisitely  simple  carved  doorways  give 
dignified,  noncommittal  entrance  to  bare,  chill,  dirty  halls  and 
filthy  rooms  of  human-hair  factories,  or  to  the  alien  rooms  of 
an  Italian  family  of  eight.  It  is  the  district  of  contrasts.  It  is 
the  region  of  small  neighborhood  stores — the  cosy,  ground- 
floor  corner  shoe-shops  crowded  by  paper-box  factories,  one  of 
whose  wagon-loads  carries  boxes  for  more  shoes  than  the  old 
spectacled  shoemaker  makes  in  a  year;  of  picturesque  Italian 
restaurants,  and  of  huge  food  factories ;  of  push-cart  '*  under- 
wear at  twenty  cents,"  and  shirtwaist  factories  with  nine  hundred 
workers;  of  small  printing  shops  standing  in  the  shadow  of 
towering  publishing  houses. 

Did  the  boy  in  this  village,  living  only  fifty  years  later  than 
the  first  boy,  "get  a  whack  at  everything?"  Did  he  know 
everybody,  get  a  friendly  initiation  into  all  the  activities  of  the 
neighborhood,  and  have  time  for  reading  and  "  spouting  poetry  " 
and  sitting  in  the  moonlight  talking,  bright-eyed,  of  how  he  was 
going  to  be  a  great  man  ?  Here  apparently  were  simple  village 
activities  side  by  side  with  the  great  modern  machinery  of  in- 
dustry. Could  he  not  start  in  the  small  shop  and  ''  work  up  " 
to  the  big  factories?  Had  he  not  even  a  better  opportunity 
than  the  first  boy  to  pick  and  choose  different  lines  of  work 
among  the  small  employers,  and  then  advance,  a  self-respecting, 
well-equipped  workman,  to  the  larger  establishments? 

The  walk  down  Sullivan  street  to  West  Third,  along  West 
Broadway,  Prince,  and  Macdougal  to  the  boy's  home  is  sufficient 
to  answer  those  questions.  It  is  true  that  the  factory  and  the 
small  shop  exist  together,  but  they  exist  side  by  side  with  no 
gradation  from  one  to  the  other.  The  small  shop  is  there,  but 
it  is  merely  a  picturesque  bit  of  local  color  fast  fading  in  the 

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96  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.11 

shadow  of  towering  factories  which  crowd  it  for  room.  The 
factory  is  the  dominant  reality.  The  vibration  of  its  whirring 
machinery  is  felt  throughout  the  village.  You  get  a  sudden 
gust  of  it  as  a  door  is  unexpectedly  opened.  You  feel  the 
reverberation  of  it  as  you  ascend  the  stairs  of  an  old  dwelling 
turned  into  a  sweatshop.  The  dust  from  it  blinds  and  chokes 
you.  It  has  entered  into  the  spirit  of  the  small  shop  so  that 
although  to  all  appearances  it  is  the  oldtime  village  shop,  it  has 
been  fundamentally  changed  and  no  longer  has  time  to  offer 
anything  to  the  boy  in  the  way  of  education.  The  machine 
has  entered  into  the  nerves  of  the  people.  It  pervades  every- 
thing. The  whole  place  is  speeded  up.  A  friend  of  the  boy 
tried  working  in  a  small  neighborhood  shop,  but  he  had  ''  to 
stay  all  hours,"  as  the  employer  tried  desperately  to  make  profit 
out  of  his  customers,  who  had  only  the  evening  for  shopping 
because  their  hours  in  the  factory  were  so  long.  The  taint  of 
the  factory  and  the  drive  of  the  factory  is  in  the  home-work 
and  changes  the  home  into  a  place  where  father  and  mother  and 
small  children  speed  up  far  into  the  night  on  the  making  of 
flower  after  flower — at  three  cents  a  gross ! 

What  happens  to  a  boy  in  this  village  when  he  leaves  school 
to  go  to  work?  What  kind  of  work  does  he  take  up?  When 
I  first  saw  the  boy  whose  story  I  am  relating  here,  he  was  in 
his  home,  a  •'  new-law "  tenement,  with  stone  floors  and  iron 
stairs,  **  like  a  prison."  It  was  a  well-to-do  place,  for  it  had 
push  buttons  and  speaking-tubes.  You  passed  six  families  on 
every  floor,  as  you  climbed  to  the  boy's  apartment — a  place  of 
much  furniture  and  sprawling  children,  a  mother  bending  over 
artificial  flowers,  and  a  father  sitting  reading  the  newspaper  with 
his  hat  on.  The  boy  is  an  American,  although  one  parent  was 
born  in  Europe.  He  is  fourteen  years  old,  and  he  left  the 
great  gray  school  building  down  the  street  because  he  **  didn't 
like  to  study."  The  family  were  both  able  and  willing  to  keep 
him  in  school,  but  "It's  like  this,"  said  the  mother;  **  if  he 
doesn't  want  to  go  to  school  and  doesn't  want  to  study,  we 
thought  he  might  play  truant,  and  it  would  be  better  for  him  to 
work,  and  besides,  it's  time  he  learned  something."  The  boy 
said   he  didn't  like   school,   but  he   didn't  disHke   it.      When 

(570) 


No.  4]  VOCATIONAL  GUIDANCE  97 

asked  what  studies  he  had  taken,  he  said,  "  the  regular  ones." 
He  had  lost  interest  at  about  the  fourth  grade.  He  liked  shop- 
work  but  didn't  have  it  until  the  seventh  grade,  and  by  that 
time  he  had  already  made  his  plans  for  leaving  school. 

During  the  six  months  after  he  left  he  worked  in  six  different 
places,  staying  from  one  day  to  six  weeks  in  each.  He  cer- 
tainly did  **  have  a  whack  "  at  many  things,  but  in  a  different 
way  from  our  first  boy.  The  latter  worked  on  the  farm  before 
breakfast.  The  former  "  helped  on  the  wagon  of  a  milk 
delivery  concern,"  starting  at  one  a.  m.  and  helping  to  lift  off 
cans  at  the  ferry  until  ten  a.  m.  It  was  out-of-door  work,  but 
on  pavements  in  the  midst  of  city  sounds  and  smells.  He  was 
paid  $4.50  a  week,  but  left  because  he  didn't  like  the  night 
work. 

He  wandered  around  for  a  week  and  a  half,  and  then  found 
work  in  a  printing  house  because  he  ''  knew  a  feller  there,"  and 
thought  it  a  good  chance.  Here  was  a  real  trade,  something  to 
study,  with  definite  steps  of  advancement.  What  did  this  boy, 
who  had  no  influence  or  training,  learn  there?  He  "  pulled 
out"  and  *'  slip-sheeted."  **  You  see,"  he  said,  "  each  press  has 
its  own  feeder.  But  as  the  sheets  come  out  they  must  be  piled 
just  so,  with  a  sheet  in  between  each  one — something  like  blot- 
ting paper.  This  is  *  slipsheeting.'  Then  when  they  are  dry, 
another  boy  piles  them  again,  taking  out  the  slip  sheets.  That 
is  '  pulling  out.' "  In  spite  of  the  monotony,  he  liked  the  work 
and  was  trying  to  pick  it  up  when  the  blight  of  the  slack 
season,  that  terror  of  modern  industry,  descended  upon  the 
trade,  and  he  was  laid  off. 

For  a  month,  he  did  not  try  for  work  at  all  because  he  knew 
that  everything  was  slack,  but  finally  got  a  position  in  an  arti- 
ficial flower  house,  coloring  flowers.  "  I  stuck  them  in  the 
dyes,  and  then  held  them  up  and  squeezed  out  the  dye,  but  I 
left  because  I  didn't  like  the  place.  The  dye  gets  on  your 
hands  and  you  can  hardly  get  it  off.     It  smells  awful." 

For  three  weeks  he  "  walked  around "  and  looked  in  the 
paper  for  jobs.  He  tried  five  or  six  places,  **  but  they  didn't 
need  a  boy,  and  there  were  always  twenty  ahead  of  me."  At 
last  he  "  got  into  a    human-hair  place,"  but  left  at  the  end  of 

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98  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK  [Vol.  II 

fifteen  days  because  he  didn't  like  the  trade.  "  I  didn't  have 
no  patience  with  it.  I'd  rather  be  something  like  a  plumber's 
helper  or  a  carpenter's  helper,  something  where  you  could  use 
your  arms,  and  not  just  your  fingers."  He  worked  there  nine 
hours  a  day  and  got  the  same  wages  as  in  the  first  position. 
When  last  heard  from  he  was  in  a  •'  novelty  place."  He  had 
told  an  employment  bureau  that  he  wanted  something  where 
he  could  learn  a  trade.  He  works  on  a  copper  buckle  or 
badge.  He  cuts  out  the  sheet  copper  in  a  proper  pattern  with 
heavy  scissors.  Then  he  pounds  the  metal  upon  a  mold 
made  of  **  like  it  was  heavy  lead."  He  stands  all  day  for  nine 
hours  doing  this.  When  asked  if  he  liked  it,  he  said  hesitat- 
ingly, **  Yes,  I  like  it,  but  the  work  is  too  heavy.  I  got  five 
blisters  the  first  day  from  using  the  scissors  to  cut  some  brass. 
And  you  stand  up  from  morning  till  night.  You  never  get  a 
rest.  It's  a  man's  work.  I  think  he  ought  to  pay  me  more." 
He  was  receiving  $5. 

And  what  are  his  good  times?  Well,  he,  too  belongs  to  a 
baseball  team,  which  plays  at  Dyckman  street  in  the  sum- 
mer— ten  miles  away  from  where  he  lives.  Instead  of  soci- 
ables and  husking  bees,  he  goes  to  moving  pictures,  but  he 
**  likes  to  stay  home  pretty  well,"  where  the  family  of  seven 
lives  in  four  rooms.  He  wanted  to  know  '*  how  you  can  learn 
a  trade." 

What  do  these  two  stories  mean?  I  should  say  that  they 
mean  two  things :  first,  that  in  this  country  we  have  telescoped 
centuries  in  a  night  with  the  result  that  one  day  we  were  living 
in  the  village  of  the  first  boy,  and  the  next  were  being  whirled 
through  the  city  of  the  second ;  second,  that  in  the  midst  of 
these  lightning-like  changes,  one  thing  has  been  consistently 
and  constantly  overlooked,  aud  that  is  education.  The  causes 
of  both  these  facts  can  be  traced  to  American  conditions  and 
the  American  temperament. 

It  is  a  curious  fact  that  it  is  taken  for  granted  that  Americans 
have  always  been  devoted  to  education.  They  have  not  been. 
They  have  been  devoted  to  school  systems.  These  school  sys- 
tems have  been  started  in  accordance  with  a  theory  of  educa- 
tion  whose   postulates  Americans  have  never  examined  until 

(572) 


No.  4]  VOCATIONAL  GUIDANCE  gg 

recently.  It  was  as  though  the  early  Pilgrim  Fathers,  standing 
on  Plymouth  Rock  and  observing  the  wilderness  to  be  con- 
quered, had  said :  "  Here  is  a  great  practical  task  to  be  ac- 
complished, but  before  embarking  on  it  we  must  remember 
that,  for  a  democracy,  education  of  all  the  people  is  necessary. 
Schools  must  be  erected."  Whereupon,  schools  were  erected 
as  they  have  been  since  the  middle  ages.  Teachers  and  pupils 
were  put  into  them  and  then  the  early  fathers,  taking  a  long 
breath  at  having  that  out  of  the  way,  went  about  the  real  busi- 
ness of  making  a  success  of  the  country,  trusting  that  the  schools 
would  turn  out  citizens  for  the  new  republic.  It  is  interesting 
to  observe  the  results. 

It  makes  very  little  difference  how  a  child  gets  his  education, 
provided  it  is  a  real  one,  one  that  cultivates  in  one  the  habit 
of  thinking  for  himself.  The  early  Greek  initiation  into  the 
duties  of  citizenship  was  probably  the  best  system  of  education 
that  ever  existed.  And  in  some  ways  the  conditions  of  life  in 
New  England  in  the  early  days  resembled  it  a  good  deal.  The 
boy  in  the  first  story  got  a  real  education.  He  took  part  in  all 
the  community  activities.  He  could  run  the  village  and  the 
store  because  he  had  shared  all  its  duties.  He  knew  its  history. 
His  father  and  his  father's  father  had  helped  to  make  the  state 
where  he  lived.  In  his  work  on  the  farm,  in  the  blacksmith 
shop,  in  the  carpenter  shop,  he  came  to  know  by  doing  the  fun- 
damental work  by  which  every  community  is  built  up.  And  in 
this  way  he  found  his  own  bent  by  trying  himself  out  at  various 
things.  He  received  an  education  not  because  of,  but  in  spite 
of  the  little  red  schoolhouse.  That  had  as  little  connection  with 
his  real  life  as  it  did  with  the  real  life  of  the  second  boy.  Any- 
one who  comes  of  a  line  of  New  Englanders  knows  that  school 
meant  to  his  fathers  a  small  square  room  with  the  beckoning 
fields  outside,  inexplicable  tasks,  much-whittled  desks  and  a 
dash  for  recess  and  freedom.  But  out  of  the  real  school,  the 
village  life,  came  a  race  of  shrewd  Yankees,  young  with  the 
energy  and  optimism  of  youth  in  a  new  country.  Conquering 
the  country  was  to  them  a  high  adventure,  good  sport.  With 
native  smartness  and  inventiveness,  the  generation  that  had 
been    trained    on    the   farm   turned   to   creating  cities.     They 

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lOO  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK  [Vol.11 

passed  industrial  epochs  at  a  bound,  and  had  the  youthful 
strength  to  stand  the  strain.  They  covered  centuries  in  a  de- 
cade, and  had  breath  left  to  shout.  They  had  the  vigor  that 
comes  from  having  lived  close  to  the  soil.  But  the  multitudes 
flowed  into  these  cities  that  had  been  built  for  them ;  and,  be- 
hold. New  York  city  is  a  towering,  menacing  fact.  Within  this 
city  there  has  grown  up  a  generation  that  lives  on  what  has 
been  made  for  it.  Here  is  the  great  inexplicable  city  where 
they  are  whirled,  jerked,  rushed  through  existence,  where  they 
are  shot  down  into  subways  and  up  in  elevators,  where  they  find 
themselves  climbing  stairs  by  machinery,  and  whisking  lunch 
off  moving  tables. 

In  this  maelstrom  the  children  are  tossed  about  like  chips. 
They  have  been  forgotten  in  the  rush  for  **  making  good." 
The  perplexing  thing  to  them  is  that  all  about  them  they  are 
told  that  they  are  not  "  what  boys  used  to  be."  Here,  they 
learn,  is  one  great  man  that  "  began  at  eleven  and  worked  up 
by  his  own  efforts."  Or,  "  In  my  day  a  boy  was  always  finding 
a  better  and  quicker  way  of  doing  his  job.  He  took  an  interest 
in  it.  There  was  my  brother.  He  was  in  the  shoe  business. 
He  had  to  work  a  machine  using  both  hands.  Well,  one  day 
the  head  of  the  firm  came  along  and  found  him  sitting  there 
with  his  machine  going  by  itself.  But  boys  aren't  like  that 
nowadays."  Or,  they  are  told  that  "  what  you  want  to  do  is  to 
learn  the  business  from  start  to  finish.  That  is  what  my  father 
did,  and  now  he  is  the  richest  man  in  the  city."  Well,  that  is 
what  they  want  to  do.  But  they  do  not  find  it  possible.  The 
modern  boy  of  our  story  was  not  lazy — any  more  than  most  of 
us.  He  was  ambitious  to  learn  a  trade.  He  wanted  *'  some- 
thing where  you  can  use  your  arms;  "  he  "  would  like  to  be  a 
carpenter's  helper."  But  when  he  did  get  into  a  trade,  in  the 
first  place  he  not  only  had  a  very  small  unrelated  task  to  do, 
but  the  rush  was  so  great  that  he  could  have  no  eyes  for  any- 
thing but  the  pulling-out  and  slip-sheeting ;  and  because  of  this 
same  rush,  the  slack  season  cut  short  his  chances  of  learning 
the  trade.  In  the  other  place,  the  value  of  any  training  that  he 
might  get  was  rendered  questionable  by  the  fact  that  he  had  to 
stand  all  day  for  nine  hours  doing  a  man's  work,  after  which  he 

(574) 


No.  4]  VOCATIONAL  GUIDANCE  lOl 

went  home  along  the  noisy,  clanging  streets  to  a  noisy,  crowded 
home.     He  simply  did  not  have  the  chance  of  the  first  boy. 

Instead  of  entering  the  village  store  the  New  York  boy  may 
go  into  a  department  store  and  sit  in  the  basement  watching 
check  slips  shot  down  through  a  tube  and  shot  up  again.  On 
the  floors  above,  among  the  tramping  feet,  the  department  store 
lavishes  its  wares  in  subdivision  after  subdivision  of  luxury. 
"  Work  up,"  *'  learn  the  business,"  in  that  maze  which  he  never 
touches  except  at  the  end  of  a  tube  ?  If  such  a  boy  is  an  Ameri- 
can with  some  lack  of  respect  for  established  order,  he  leaves 
in  contempt  and  "  walks  around  "  until  he  finds  another  job,  and 
continues  until  he  succumbs  or  is  thrown  aside.  If  he  is  of  the 
great  army  of  immigrants  who  are  even  more  persuaded  than  our 
own  people  that  this  is  a  land  of  opportunity  and  education,  he 
stays,  believing  that  in  this  land  of  promise  this  job  must  lead 
somewhere.  Industry  is  a  tube,  a  needle,  a  foot-press,  to  the 
average  worker.  He  does  not  know  what  there  is,  or  how  to 
get  it.  His  work,  to  such  a  boy,  is  represented  by  a  sidedoor 
elevator  in  which  he  rides  at  his  own  risk,  a  military  row  of 
heads  bowed  over  machines  or  desks,  a  flash,  a  whirr,  a  tired 
back  and  a  desire  to  leave. 

As  long  as  the  community  life  gave  real  education,  the  state 
could  without  danger  let  the  school  remain  the  repository  of 
inexplicable  truth,  but  to  the  extent  to  which  the  state  fails  to 
order  its  social  and  industrial  life  so  that  the  children  may  par- 
ticipate in  the  fundamental  community  activities,  to  that  extent 
we  must  see  to  it  that  special  institutions  are  set  apart  for  the 
special  purpose  of  giving  these  children  some  understanding  of 
the  life  in  which  they  find  themselves.  The  more  complex 
conditions  become,  the  more  imperative  this  need  is,  and  it  is  a 
need  that  will  be  increasingly  felt  in  this  country,  for  it  is  use- 
less to  expect  that  conditions  will  become  less  complex.  The 
history  of  America,  and  of  civilization  in  general,  does  not  war- 
rant such  an  expectation.  But  it  is  consistent  with  the  history 
of  human  achievement  to  expect  that  we  may  develop,  along 
with  this  increasing  complexity,  the  power  to  control  it  by 
analyzing  and  understanding  it.  This  is  the  function  of  educa- 
tion in  a  highly  developed  civilization. 

(575) 


102  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.11 

But  the  state  in  our  country  has,  so  far,  failed  to  recognize 
that  fact.  It  fails  to  supply  schools  for  training  in  good  citi- 
zenship and  good  workmanship ;  and  it  fails  because  its  people 
have  always  neglected  to  articulate  their  mental  life  and  their 
"  practical "  life.  The  division  between  the  school  and  life  is 
important,  but  even  more  important  is  the  fact  that  the  division 
is  due  to  the  fundamental  separation  that  there  has  always  been 
in  America  between  ''  practical "  life  and  the  life  of  speculative 
thought.  The  following  words  of  Santayana  in  regard  to  our 
philosophic  system  will  express  my  point  better  than  any  words 
of  mine,  for  education  is,  of  course,  only  the  expression  of  a 
nation's  philosophy: 

America  is  a  country  with  two  mentalities,  one  a  survival  of  the  beliefs 
and  standards  of  the  fathers,  the  other  an  expression  of  the  instincts, 
practise  and  discoveries  of  the  younger  generation.  In  all  the  higher 
things  of  the  mind — in  religion,  in  literature,  in  the  moral  emotions — 
it  is  the  hereditary  spirit  that  still  prevails,  so  much  so  that  Bernard 
Shaw  finds  that  America  is  a  hundred  years  behind  the  times.  The 
truth  is  that  one-half  of  the  American  mind,  that  not  occupied  intensely 
in  practical  aifairs,  has  remained,  I  will  not  say  high-and-dry ,  but 
slightly  becalmed  ;  it  has  floated  gently  in  the  backwater,  while,  along- 
side, in  invention  and  industry  and  social  organization,  the  other  half 
of  the  mind  was  leaping  down  a  sort  of  Niagara  Rapids.  .  .  .  The  one 
is  all  aggressive  enterprise  ;  the  other  is  all  genteel  tradition.^ 

If  this  hypothesis  is  true,  and  I  believe  it  is,  and  if  the  fore- 
going stories  are  typical  of  conditions,  and  I  believe  they  are, 
one  or  two  things  become  clear  in  regard  to  the  movement  for 
vocational  guidance.  It  is  evident  that  it  has  its  roots  in  a 
maladjustment  deeper  and  more  fundamental  than  is  at  first 
apparent.  If  the  lives  of  these  two  boys  and  the  analysis 
prove  anything,  they  prove  that  the  present  clash  exists  be- 
cause since  the  beginning  of  our  history  we  have  kept  our 
educational  life  and  our  practical  life  in  separate  compartments, 
so  that  now  when  they  need  one  another  they  do  not  know 
how  to  talk  to  each  other.     It  is  not  the  fault  of  the  schools. 

*  The  Genteel  Tradition  in  American  Philosophy^  p.  4. 
(576) 


No.  4]  VOCATIONAL  GUIDANCE  103 

It  is  the  fault  of  the  American  temperament,  which  has  al- 
ways been  content  with  the  '*  genteel  tradition  "  in  its  thinking 
life. 

The  foregoing  is  not  meant  to  be  a  mere  psychological 
analysis.  It  has  a  direct,  practical  bearing  upon  the  question 
of  vocational  guidance.  Americans  are  never  going  to  be 
content  with  the  '*  genteel  tradition "  when  it  really  gets  in 
their  way.  As  long  as  it  is  on  the  shelf  and  is  only  taken 
down  on  Sundays  and  holidays,  it  can  be  sentimentalized  over 
with  safety,  but  when  it  begins  to  interfere  with  Monday  morn- 
ing's work  in  the  office,  it  has  to  go.  It  is  beginning  to  do 
just  that.  What  is  going  to  be  put  in  its  place?  What  is  go- 
ing to  take  the  place  of  the  school  of  our  fathers  ? 

One  of  three  things  may  happen.  In  the  first  place,  we 
may  carry  our  real,  every-day  philosophy  to  its  logical, 
practical  conclusion.  The  business  man,  who  is  America,  may 
say: 

Yes,  the  schools  are  not  related  to  life.  This  will  never  do.  We 
must  relate  them  to  life.  Trade  in  New  York  city  in  the  year  19 12  is 
life.  Therefore,  train  children  for  earning  their  living  in  trade  in 
New  York  city  in  191 2.  Never  mind  about  what  went  before  or  what 
is  coming  after.  Guide  them  into  vocations  now.  I  want  twenty 
boys  for  my  machine  shops. 

If  that  point  of  view  prevails,  we  shall  have  short-course  trade 
schools,  and  vocational  guidance  will  be  a  bureau  for  giving 
advice  about  vocations. 

Or  we  may  fall  back  upon  the  omnipresent  sentimentality  of 
the  practical  man — another  fungus  of  the  *'  genteel  tradition '' 
— and  say: 

This  state  of  affairs  is  pathetic.  What  are  we  going  to  do  with  these 
children  that  school  cannot  hold?  It's  no  use  talking  about  keeping 
them  in  school.  They  will  not  stay.  You  cannot  make  the  schools 
attractive.  The  boys  and  girls  want  to  help  their  parents.  Their 
unselfishness  should  not  be  discouraged.  Let  us  find  work  for  them. 
I  need  twenty  boys  in  my  machine  shops. 

(577) 


104  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.11 

In  that  case  vocational  guidance  becomes  a  regular  employment 
bureau  for  placing  children  in  positions. 

Either  answer  to  the  problem  is  dangerous  because  both, 
continuing  the  American  tradition,  slight  the  problem  of  edu- 
cation. The  first  would  provide  a  ''  practical "  school  adapted 
to  the  needs  of  to-day ;  but  with  trade  conditions  changing  so 
rapidly,  such  a  school  would  fail  to  meet  even  the  demands  of 
its  own  time.  The  second  would  simply  swell  the  ranks  of  that 
army  of  workers  which,  caught  in  the  pressure  of  city  life,  is 
not  educated  either  by  the  normal  community  activities  or  by 
the  school. 

Vocational  guidance  must  face  the  fact  that  it  must  be,  in 
justice  to  the  child,  a  problem  in  education.  Since  the  school 
does  not  really  educate,  and  since  the  community  no  longer 
educates,  one  or  the  other  must  be  made  to  educate.  It  is 
impossible  to  simplify  the  complexity  or  stay  the  heedless  rush 
of  New  York  industrial  life.  It  is  the  school  which  we  must 
grapple  with.  It  must  be  given  an  opportunity  to  take  the 
place  of  that  simple  village  life  which,  in  its  variety  and  in  its 
demand  for  personal  service,  instructed  a  generation  for  whom 
there  was  no  need  of  vocational  guidance.  This  is  the  third 
answer  to  the  problem,  and  might  be  stated  concretely  as  follows  : 

It  is  true  that  the  schools  are  not  related  to  life,  and  that  consequently 
the  children  are  leaving  them  in  alarming  numbers.  It  is  difficult  to 
hold  them  there,  but  it  is  not  impossible.  To  do  that,  however,  we 
must  recognize  that  our  schools  have  never  really  educated ,  and  conse- 
quently that  they  must  be  reorganized  from  the  beginning.  Tacking 
on  six-months  trade  courses  will  not  help  matters. 

There  is  reason  to  hope  that  such  an  answer  may  prevail, 
because  if  America  has  been  medieval  in  its  school  systems,  it 
has  also  produced  one  of  the  greatest  educators  of  the  century, 
one  who  analyzed  American  tendencies  and  the  flaws  in  Ameri- 
can education  long  before  the  present  agitation  for  reform. 
He  has,  in  fact,  made  it  possible  for  the  call  for  such  recon- 
struction to  come  from  the  schoolmen  themselves,  as  it  is  com- 
ing. If  his  school  of  thought  prevails,  we  shall  have  the  solution 
of  the  problem  in  his  definition  of  the  training  of  a  child.  Says 
John  Dewey : 

(578) 


No.  4]  VOCATIONAL  GUIDANCE  105 

The  child  is  to  be  not  only  a  voter  and  a  subject  of  law  ;  he  is  also 
to  be  a  member  of  a  family.  He  is  to  be  a  worker,  engaged  in  some 
occupation  which  will  be  of  use  to  society  and  which  will  maintain  his 
own  independence  and  self-respect.  He  is  to  be  a  member  of  some 
particular  neighborhood  and  community ,  and  must  contribute  to  the 

decencies  and  graces  of  civilization  wherever  he  is To 

suppose  that  a  good  citizen  is  anything  more  than  a  thoroughly  efficient 

and  serviceable  member  of  society is  a  cramped  superstition 

which  it  is  hoped  may  soon  disappear  from  educational  discussion. 

If  this  third  answer,  involving  the  socializing  rather  than  the 
mechanizing  of  the  school,  carries  the  day,  what  will  be  the 
school  of  the  future,  and  what  place  in  its  development  is  there 
for  vocational  guidance?  Can  vocational  guidance  be  more 
than  a  warning  cry  that  such  a  newer  type  of  school  is  needed  ? 
Can  it  be  of  practical  assistance  in  making  this  school  a 
reality  ? 

Before  considering  that  point,  I  should  like  to  draw  attention 
again  to  the  fact  that  the  lack  of  educational  advance  is  due 
not  to  the  school  but  to  the  blind  optimism  of  the  American 
taxpayer  in  regard  to  the  established  order  of  education. 
Convinced  as  he  is  that  he  only  has  to  give  money  for  schools 
as  they  always  have  been,  he  opposes  a  polite  but  solid  front 
of  uncomprehending  disapproval  to  innovation  or  what  he  calls 
"•  fads."  There  is  an  interesting  illustration  of  this  fact  in  the 
history  of  the  New  York  public  schools.  In  the  beginning  of 
the  manual  training  movement,  as  soon  as  the  practicability  of 
manual  training  had  been  proved  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  ablest 
educators,  the  superintendent  of  schools  advocated  the  starting 
of  such  classes  in  the  public  schools.  He  has  only  gradually 
secured  them  from  a  grudging  public,  and  even  now  has  not  so 
many  as  he  wants  and  he  has  none  for  grades  lower  than  the 
seventh.  In  the  year  191 1,  the  budget  for  the  board  of 
education  was  cut,  thereby  crippling  the  work  so  laboriously 
built  up.  Again,  the  public  has  been  slowly  worked  up  to  an 
appreciation  of  the  need  of  classes  for  defectives.  Excellent 
and  beneficial  as  that  is  to  the  children  as  a  whole,  perhaps  even 
more  important  from  a  constructive  point  of  view  is  the  campaign 
that  the  city  superintendent  has  now  started  for  the  more  ade- 

(579) 


I06  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK  [Vol.11 

quate  education  of  the  normal  children.  In  his  report  this  year, 
he  advocated  the  establishment  of  more  vocational  schools,  and 
the  inauguration  of  continuation  schools — a  recommendation  in 
line  with  the  most  progressive  thought  of  the  times.  It  will  be 
interesting  to  see  how  long  he  will  have  to  make  this  demand 
before  the  city  will  permit  such  schools  in  New  York.  It  is  a 
curious  fact  that,  in  spite  of  such  widespread  progressive  move- 
ments upon  the  part  of  educators,  the  school  systems  are  still  at- 
tacked as  behind  the  times,  while  appropriations  for  courses 
consistent  with  development  along  progressive  lines  are  only 
reluctantly  and  protestingly  granted.  Criticism  is  much  easier 
than  going  down  into  one's  pocket  for  the  large  expenditure 
necessary  for  such  changes.  If  the  American  is  to  give  up  the 
*'  genteel  tradition,"  he  must  see  the  value  of  spending  ten 
times  as  much  on  education  as  he  now  spends. 

In  spite  of  the  indifference  of  the  average  citizen,  however, 
there  are  two  clearly  defined  progressive  movements  in  the 
school  in  connection  with  which  vocational  guidance  can  render 
real  service.  They  are  the  movement  for  the  establishment  of 
vocational  and  continuation  schools,  and  that  for  the  **  six  and 
six  plan."  Both  movements  involve  a  real  upheaval  of  present 
arrangements.  To  be  effective,  they  must  be  founded  upon 
accurate,  concrete  knowledge  of  present  conditions  and  tend- 
encies, and  such  knowledge  cannot  be  secured  in  a  short  time. 
And  the  schools  have  a  very  limited  amount  of  time  to  give  to 
such  work,  as  they  are  already  overburdened  with  the  task  of 
carrying  on  the  machinery  of  the  present  educational  system. 
The  tendency  under  these  conditions  would  be,  therefore,  to 
secure  information  from  those  to  whom  trade  training  and 
the  supply  of  workers  is  of  practical  importance,  i.  e.y  the  em- 
ployers. But  it  would  not  be  wise  to  take  the  word  merely  of 
those  who  have  private  interests  at  stake.  The  information 
should  be  secured  by  someone  who  can  go  into  the  matter 
thoroughly  enough  to  get  the  suggestions  of  both  employers  and 
working  men,  and  reduce  them  to  an  impartial  statement  of 
facts  on  which  to  base  action.  Therefore,  the  school  authorities 
have  the  right  to  demand  of  the  state  the  services  of  a  bureau 
not  outside  but  within  the  school   system,  whose  business   it 

(580) 


No.  4]  VOCATIONAL  GUIDANCE  107 

shall  be  to  collect  information  which  will  enable  them  to  carry 
on  these  two  reconstructive  movements  in  accordance  with  the 
facts  of  present  conditions  and  sound  educational  theory. 
Such,  in  my  opinion,  is  at  present  the  function  of  a  vocational 
guidance  bureau.  It  would  really  be  a  School  Bureau  of  Voca- 
tional Information  and  would  give  guidance  of  the  most  funda- 
mental kind,  that  is,  guidance  in  this  readjustment  between 
education  and  industry,  by  getting  information  about  vocations 
interpreted  in  their  most  social  sense. 

And  what  shall  its  practical  work  be?  To  explain  that,  I 
must  go  back  a  moment  to  a  description  of  the  two  lines  of 
progressive  reconstruction  mentioned  above — the  movement  for 
vocational  schools  and  the  suggested  revision  of  the  curriculum 
in  accordance  with  the  *'  six  and  six "  plan.  Because  the 
American  people  are  likely  to  ignore  the  educational  oppor- 
tunities in  the  industrial  demand,  there  is  the  gravest  possible 
danger  that  plans  for  changes  in  the  curriculum  advocated  in 
the  "six  and  six"  plan  and  in  the  vocational  schools  may  be 
too  narrow  in  scope.  A  School  Bureau  of  Vocational  Informa- 
tion may  forestall  that  danger.  To  illustrate,  the  ''six  and  six  " 
plan  will  probably  develop  in  one  of  three  principal  ways.  The 
proposition  is,  as  I  understand  it,  to  cover  the  ground  that  is 
now  covered  in  eight  years  of  elementary  schooling,  in  six 
years,  so  that  the  children  will  finish  the  general  course  in  what 
is  now  the  sixth  grade.  That  means  that  normally  they  would 
finish  that  grade  at  twelve  years  of  age.  Actually,  of  course, 
many  children  in  the  sixth  grade  are  fourteen  years  old.  How- 
ever, assuming  that  under  this  new  plan  there  would  be  less 
retardation,  let  us  divide  the  next  six  years  into  two-year  groups. 
The  course  for  the  children  from  twelve  to  fourteen  years  of 
age  might  then  be  divided  into  industrial  and  commercial  de- 
partments, which  would  have  a  common  denominator  of  general 
studies  with  perhaps  one  third  of  the  time  in  each  department  de- 
voted to  special  trade  or  commercial  work.  In  this  arrangement, 
boys  and  girls  would  probably  be  segregated,  the  boys  taking 
trade  or  commercial  courses  particularly  fitted  to  them,  and  the 
girls  those  for  which  it  is  considered  that  their  capabilities  make 
them  fit.     According  to  this  plan,  the  children  during  the  next 

(581) 


I08  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.11 

two  years,  from  fourteen  to  sixteen,  might  devote  their  whole 
time  to  a  study  of  the  special  trade  or  course  which  the  previous 
two  years  had  convinced  them  they  preferred.  They  could 
spend  two  or  four  years  on  such  a  course,  depending  upon  the 
time  at  their  disposal  and  the  degree  of  training  necessary. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  "  six  and  six"  plan  might  result  in  a  gen- 
eral course  up  to  the  sixth  grade,  with  a  general  vocational  course 
from  twelve  years  to  fourteen  years  of  age,  with  no  division  of 
the  work  into  industrial  and  commercial,  or  into  that  for  boys 
and  that  for  girls,  with  special  vocational  work  from  fourteen  to 
sixteen,  or  fourteen  to  eighteen.  Such  a  plan  would  be  based 
on  the  assumption  that  it  is  untrue  to  the  facts  of  present-day 
life  to  divide  courses  into  industrial  and  commercial,  as  well  as 
educationally  unsound  to  predetermine  a  child's  bent  at  twelve 
years  of  age.  It  would  also  assume  that  to  divide  courses  into 
boys'  work  and  girls'  work  is  to  cling  to  an  outworn  prejudice 
rather  than  to  recognize  the  facts  of  actual  life  which  record 
that  women  are  at  work  in  all  but  three  of  the  occupations  recog- 
nized by  the  census  in  which  men  are  engaged,  and  therefore 
need  training  for  all  of  them  just  as  boys  do.  As  Mr.  Arthur 
D.  Dean  has  said :  "  We  must  definitely  fit  her  for  the  work 
which  she  has  chosen  in  the  productive  and  distributive  fields 
of  labor.  Work  here  she  will,  and  all  the  brooms  of  good 
people  will  not  sweep  back  the  tide."  The  special  vocational 
courses  under  this  plan  could  be  carried  on  in  one  of  two  ways : 
( I )  By  full-day  vocational  courses  in  the  schools  from  fourteen 
to  sixteen,  or  fourteen  to  eighteen,  according  to  the  training 
necessary,  or  (2)  By  half-time  work  in  the  schools  and  half- 
time  in  the  shops,  from  fourteen  to  sixteen,  or  fourteen  to 
eighteen. 

There  is  a  third  possibility  in  this  "  six  and  six  "  plan.  Experi- 
ment may  show  that  the  kind  of  school  outlined  by  Professor 
John  Dewey  in  The  School  and  Society  offers  the  most  practical 
method  of  correcting  the  maladjustment  at  present  existing  be- 
tween the  school  and  society.  The  more  one  reads  that  small 
and  unostentatious-looking  book,  and  the  more  one  goes  out 
into  the  streets  and  tenements  and  factories  and  playgrounds, 
where  the  great  mass  of  children  in  a  city  like  New  York  live 

(583) 


No.  4]  VOCATIONAL  GUIDANCE  109 

and  work  and  play,  the  more  one  is  convinced  that  in  that  little 
volume  is  outlined  the  most  practical  and  economic  method  of 
meeting  the  maladjustment  that  makes  the  cry  for  vocational 
guidance  possible,  because  the  author  provides  for  the  teaching 
of  those  community  activities  the  lack  of  which  in  the  child's 
life  we  have  discovered  to  be  the  cause  of  the  maladjustment. 

Whichever  way  the  **  six  and  six"  plan  is  interpreted,  there  is 
one  other  point  of  primary  importance  to  be  determined.  If  one 
of  the  first  two  plans  goes  through,  and  children  finish  their  gen- 
eral course  at  twelve  years  of  age,  or  in  the  sixth  grade,  is  there 
any  danger  of  the  law  being  changed  to  permit  them  to  leave 
school  for  work  at  twelve  years,  or  will  there  be  a  law  compel- 
ling all  children  to  attend  school  either  half-time  or  full-time  up 
to  sixteen  years  of  age — in  the  first  case  receiving  training  in  a 
trade,  part  of  the  time  in  the  shop  and  part  in  the  school ;  in 
the  second  case  spending  all  the  time  in  the  school?  This  of 
course  brings  us  into  connection  with  the  second  movement  for 
reconstruction,  that  is,  the  vocational  and  continuation-school 
plans.  It  is  evident  that  this  general  and  special  school  revision 
cannot  be  divorced.  The  children  who  go  into  vocational  and 
continuation  schools  are  coming  out  of  the  general  elementary 
schools.  How  is  the  vocational  to  supplement  the  general 
school?  That  depends  upon  how  we  interpret  education  and 
industry.  A  School  Bureau  of  Vocational  Information  could 
do  much  to  make  that  interpretation  sound  by  supplying  data 
for  it. 

In  connection  with  what  group  of  young  workers  shall  we  get 
these  data?  There  are  three  groups  of  children,  and  three 
types  of  school,  for  which  such  a  bureau  might  work:  (i)  Ele- 
mentary schools  and  children,  including  the  fourteen  to  sixteen- 
year-old  children  who  first  leave  school  to  go  to  work;  (2) 
Secondary,  or  high  schools,  and  the  group  of  children  from 
fourteen  to  eighteen;  (3)  The  eighteen  to  twenty-one  year  old 
group  of  children  in  technical  or  trade  courses.  It  would  be 
difficult  to  say  which  is  the  most  important.  The  first  group 
appeals  to  me  as  the  most  important,  because  ultimately,  to 
help  the  last  two,  we  shall  have  to  change  conditions  for  the 
first,   and    also    because   the    reconstruction   mentioned   above 

(583) 


no  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.11 

centers  about  this  group.  There  is  one  piece  of  work  in  this 
group  which  it  is  of  immediate  importance  for  a  bureau  to 
carry  on,  and  that  is  an  investigation  of  trades.  There  are 
certain  points  upon  which  we  already  know  that  we  need  in- 
formation before  we  can  be  sure  that  we  are  constructing  trade 
schools  on  the  right  lines.  For  example,  there  is  at  present  a 
discussion  of  the  relative  value  of  trade  training  given  in  all-day 
vocational  schools,  and  that  given  in  half-time  schools,  i.  e., 
half  time  in  the  school  and  half  time  in  the  shop. 

There  are  a  number  of  facts  that  must  be  ascertained  before 
we  can  decide  that  point.  Such  facts  can  be  divided  roughly 
into  three  groups:  (i)  The  kind  of  trades  to  be  taught  in 
either  all-day  or  half-day  vocational  schools.  (2)  The  kind 
of  pre-vocational  schooling  that  will  be  necessary  if  the  pupils 
are  to  master  the  vocational  work  in  the  allotted  time.  (3)  The 
state  supervision  of  the  conditions  under  which  the  work  is 
done.  The  following  are  a  few  of  the  questions  that  might  be 
considered  under  each  head : 

I.  The  Kind  of  Trades  to  be  Taught. 

a.  What  trades  is  the  state  justified  in  spending  the  money 
and  the  time  to  teach  in  either  type  of  school? 

b.  What  is  a  ''blind-alley"  occupation?  What  is  a  skilled 
trade  ?  Is  the  state  justified  in  training  children  for  paper-box- 
making,  for  example?  Or  is  it  justified  in  training  them  for 
industries  that  demand  only  specialized  workers  on  subdivided 
processes  of  subdivisions  of  trades?  Would  there  be  any 
danger  of  systematically  preparing  workers  for  pieces  of  work 
which,  in  the  rapid  changes  in  industry,  might  be  obsolete  in 
five  or  ten  years?  Would  the  state,  in  that  case,  recruit  the 
army  of  unemployables  which  it  has  to  take  care  of  in  other 
state  departments?  But  if  such  narrowly  specialized  workers 
represent  the  majority  demanded  by  industry,  what  are  the 
schools — which  necessarily  plan  for  the  majority — going  to  do 
about  it?  Give  up  the  fight  for  training  citizens,  and  train 
'*  hands?  "  Or  shall  we  say  that  if  that  is  the  kind  of  worker 
that  industry  wants,  it  is  not  the  kind  of  man  that  the  state 
wants,  and  that,  even  if  he  has  to  go  into  such  work,  he  shall  at 

(584) 


No.  4]  VOCATIONAL  GUIDANCE  III 

least  know  why ;  shall  know  the  industrial  development  that  led 
up  to  the  present  conditions,  whether  they  are  likely  to  last,  and 
in  what  direction  they  are  tending  so  that  he  shall  not  have  the 
feeling  of  blind  bewilderment  of  the  second  boy  of  our  story? 
In  that  case,  what  is  industry  going  to  say? 

c.  Is  it  true,  on  the  contrary,  that  the  tendency  in  certain  in- 
dustries is  toward  the  invention  of  machines  so  complicated  that 
instead  of  the  mechanical  machine  tender  they  demand  the  ser- 
vices of  a  highly  skilled  man  with  all-round  knowledge?  If  so, 
what  effect  will  this  have  upon  the  development  of  general  and 
vocational  schools  ?  Could  preparation  for  such  trades  be  better 
taught  by  half-time  work  in  the  shops? 

d.  Again,  does  the  increasing  complexity  and  unity  in  variety 
of  actual  trade  conditions  point  to  the  fact  that  our  present 
classification  of  trades  is  antiquated?  Would  it  be  possible  to 
construct  curricula  on  the  basis  of  the  social  need  to  be  satisfied 
rather  than  on  the  basis  of  individual  crafts?  In  that  case,  of 
course,  the  newer  callings  which  take  the  place  of  an  older  trade 
in  the  construction  of  something  always  in  demand,  such  as 
houses,  for  example,  would  be  a  part  of  the  trade  taught. 
What  effect  would  this  have  not  only  upon  the  school  curricula, 
but  upon  irregularity  of  employment,  slack  seasons,  rules  of 
apprenticeship  and  similar  matters? 

II.  The  Kind  of  Pre-Vocational  Schooling  Necessary. 

If  this  careful,  thorough  training  in  trade  is  to  be  given,  what 
kind  of  pre-vocational  work  must  there  be?  Would  the  oppor- 
tunity to  handle  tools  generally  in  studying  the  different  com- 
munity activities — development  of  industry,  for  example,  of 
weaving,  carpentry,  mechanics — give  a  boy  a  general  familiarity 
with  tools  without  which  he  would  not  be  able  to  master  a  trade 
so  rapidly? 

III.  State    Supervision    of    Conditions    under  which   Children 
Work. 

Even  if  we  get  all  these  facts  about  the  trade,  how  is  the  state 
to  make  sure  that  the  children  will  work  under  conditions  not 
inimical  to  health? 

Such  might  be  the  general  outline  of  one  task  of  such  a 

(585) 


1 1 2  ORGANIZA  TION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK  [Vol.  II 

bureau.  This  conception  of  vocational  guidance  as  a  kind  of 
School  Bureau  of  Vocational  Information  will  probably  not  ap- 
peal to  the  majority  so  much  as  the  idea  of  an  advice  bureau 
or  of  an  employment  bureau.  Its  task  is  not  so  definite  as  that 
of  an  employment  bureau  nor  has  it  the  popular  emotional  ap- 
peal of  an  advice  bureau.  Such  an  interpretation  of  the  cry 
for  vocational  guidance  is  to  me,  however,  more  consistent  with 
the  history  of  its  rise,  and  is  likely  to  yield  results  of  more  last- 
ing benefit.  I  believe  that,  if  we  hold  to  this  idea,  we  shall 
"  seize  the  horns  rather  than  the  tail  of  the  difficulty."  Of 
course,  the  chief  obstacle  to  putting  such  an  interpretation  into 
effect  is  that  the  analysis  of  the  situation  and  of  the  American 
character,  upon  which  the  interpretation  is  based,  is  addressed 
to  an  American  audience,  and  for  the  very  reason  given  in  the 
analysis,  the  average  American  business  man  who  gives  the  first 
answer  to  the  problem  is  likely  to  brush  aside  this  interpretation 
as  theoretical,  thus  of  course  proving  my  point  and  condemning 
us  to  the  inevitable  fruition  of  the  "■  genteel  tradition." 

If,  however,  this  interpretation  is  accepted,  we  may  per- 
haps have  a  third  type  of  boy  in  the  future — one  who  had  all 
the  varied  training  of  the  village  boy,  but  who  received  it  in  a 
school  where  he,  too,  began  to  use  his  hands  and  eyes  and  ears 
as  early  as  five  years  of  age ;  in  which  he  learned  by  taking 
part  in  all  the  fundamental  activities  of  human  life,  studying 
geography  as  the  science  of  man's  relation  to  the  earth,  not  as  a 
complex  chart  of  capitals  and  rivers,  countries  with  exports  and 
imports  in  a  paragraph  on  the  right-hand  side  of  the  one  hun- 
dred and  twentieth  page ;  studying  history  as  the  interpretation 
of  the  present  life  on  the  island  of  Manhattan,  for  example,  not 
as  an  unending  succession  of  battles  and  maneuvers,  dates  and 
great  men ;  and  English  as  the  art  of  communication  of  ideas 
and  thoughts  upon  which  our  very  existence  is  dependent,  not 
as  a  perplexing  text-book  of  adverbs  and  adjectives,  or  as  the 
works  of  great  men  which  we  are  told  we  ought  to  admire — and 
do  not.  In  such  a  school  he  would  work  in  wood  and  metal,  at 
the  forge  and  in  the  printing  shop,  neither  in  order  to  become 
"  all-round"  nor  to  learn  a  trade,  but  in  order  to  get  a  prelim- 
inary knowledge  of  the  fundamental  facts  of  the  industrial  and 

(586) 


No.  4] 


VOCATIONAL  GUIDANCE 


113 


social  activities  whose  later,  more  complex  expressions  lie  all 
about  him,  and  from  which,  when  he  leaves  school,  he  has  to 
pick  and  choose  his  own  work.  In  other  words,  such  a  boy 
would  receive  real  education  because  he  would  learn  to  think, 
learn  to  put  two  and  two  together.  Perhaps  in  that  case  he  and 
the  generation  that  follows  will  not  get  into  such  a  tangle  as  the 
one  we  are  in;  will,  in  truth,  have  learned  so  that  it  is  second 
nature  to  them,  that  no  one  thinks  until  he  has  to,  but  that  a 
nation  advances  as  its  imagination  becomes  sufficiently  sensitive, 
its  powers  of  intellectual  analysis  sufficiently  keen  and  its  capacity 
for  reaction  sufficiently  vital  to  foretell  when  things  are  about  to 
go  wrong,  and  act  upon  that  foresight. 

(587) 


LABOR  OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  IN  TENEMENTS' 


T 


MRS.  FLORENCE   KELLEY 
General  Secretary  National  Consumers'  League 

WO  tasks  of  great  difficulty  confront  those  who  are  trying 
to  prevent  the  labor  of  women  and  children  in  tenement 
houses.    They  are  difficult  because  they  are  fundamental. 

The  first  is  to  induce  the  court  of  appeals  of  the  state  of  New 
York  to  reverse  itself,  to  reverse  the  opinion  which  has  fast- 
ened the  curse  and  blight  of  tenement-house  work  upon  this 
city  since  the  year  1888.  In  that  year  the  court  decided  that 
the  attempt  to  prohibit  tenement-house  work  in  the  interest  of 
the  health  of  the  people  who  do  the  work  cannot  be  sustained 
as  a  legitimate  use  of  the  police  power. 

When  that  decision  was  handed  down  people  did  not  under- 
stand, as  they  do  now,  the  communicability  of  disease,  the 
relation  of  excessive  fatigue  of  the  workers  to  disease,  or  the 
relation  of  home  work  to  excessive  fatigue  of  women  and  chil- 
dren. We  have  now  a  body  of  new  knowledge  available  for 
the  use  of  the  court  of  appeals.  Our  first  task  is  to  give  wide 
publicity  to  the  disease-breeding  conditions  of  manufacture  in 
the  tenements,  thus  leading  the  legislature  to  make  a  fresh 
attempt  at  outright  prohibition,  at  the  same  time  making  it 
possible  for  the  court  of  appeals  gracefully  to  reverse  itself. 
Until  that  is  done,  all  attempts  at  regulation  of  manufacture  in 
tenements  are  illusory;  they  simply  lull  the  public  conscience 
vainly  and  cruelly,  when  it  ought  to  be  alert  and  militant. 

The  second  task  is  to  imitate  Massachusetts  in  creating  a  state 
commission  to  examine  into  the  wages  paid  women  and  children 
who  work  in  the  tenements,  with  a  view  to  securing  minimum 
wage  boards  in  all  those  industries  that  overflow  into  tenement 
houses. 

We  have  at  present  forty  industries  for  which  licenses  are 
required  before  work  can  be  done  in  a  tenement  house ;  but  we 

*  Read  at  the  meeting  of  the  Academy  of  Political  Science,  April  18,  191 2. 

(588) 


WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  IN  TENEMENTS 


115 


know  of  sixty-two  additional  industries  carried  on  in  the  tene- 
ments for  which  no  license  is  required.  There  are  over  thirteen 
thousand  houses  licensed  as  work  shops,  and  in  order  really  to 
control  them  we  ought  to  have  twenty-six  thousand  inspectors, 
an  inspector  in  each  house  all  day  and  all  night.  Without 
this,  all  inspection  of  tenement-house  work  is  illusory. 

The  Massachusetts  method  is  to  make  it  so  expensive  as  to 
be  unprofitable  to  employ  workers  in  the  tenements.  The 
commission  has  made  its  report,  the  bill  has  been  favorably  re- 
ported out  of  committee  and  is  now  before  the  legislature.  The 
members  of  the  commission  are  hopeful  that  it  may  pass. 
When  our  legislature  meets  next  year  we  shall  have  an  object 
lesson,  here  at  home,  such  as  has  existed  in  England  for  two 
years,  and  for  seventeen  years  in  Australia,  of  this  method  of 
dealing  with  home  work  by  requiring  that  home  workers  shall 
receive  compensation  not  only  for  the  work  they  do,  but  for  the 
relief  they  afford  the  manufacturer  in  the  rent,  heat,  light, 
cleaning,  supervision  and  transportation  of  materials  and  finished 
products.  Where  that  has  been  done  the  joy  of  the  manu- 
facturer in  the  overflow  work  has  been  dampened,  and  he  has 
been  encouraged  to  supply  sufficient  room  for  carrying  on  the 
work  under  his  own  responsible  supervision,  without  the  inter- 
vention of  the  great  mass  of  sweaters  who  batten  upon  our 
tenement  industry. 

In  the  opinion  of  the  organization  which  I  represent,  these 
are  the  two  difficult  and  essential  next  steps  to  be  taken — the 
reversal  of  the  decision  of  the  court  of  appeals,  and  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  Minimum  Wage  Boards  Commission  in  this  state. 

(589) 


TWO  NATIONAL  SOCIAL  NEEDS  ' 

WASHINGTON  GLADDEN 
Columbus,  Ohio 

AMONG  our  national  social  needs  is  the  need  of  a  better 
understanding  among  the  sections  of  the  nation.  Our 
land  has  grown  so  wide  and  sections  are  so  far  apart 
that  they  are  likely  to  develop  separate  interests  and  jealousies 
and  conflicts.  Some  of  us  are  old  enough  to  remember  the 
growth  of  sectional  feeling  between  North  and  South,  and 
what  came  of  it.  There  are  those  who  say  that  that  conflict 
was  necessary  and  inevitable.  I  do  not  believe  it.  It  might 
have  been  averted  by  a  moderate  degree  of  reasonableness  and 
goodwill  on  both  sides.  The  nation  could  have  paid  for  the 
slaves  at  a  tithe  of  the  cost  of  the  Civil  War  in  money,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  waste  of  the  best  manhood  of  the  land  and  the 
engendering  of  race  antagonisms  which  still  threaten  our  peace. 
If  we  had  only  been  willing  to  reason  together,  and  to  bear  one 
another's  burdens,  we  could  have  saved  ourselves  mountains  of 
misery. 

Between  East  and  West  there  are  now  possibilities  of 
similar  sectional  conflicts.  The  East  is  the  lender,  and  the 
West  is  the  borrower.  "The  borrower  is  the  servant  of  the 
lender,"  as  the  wise  man  says,  and  that  servitude  is  sometimes 
unwelcome.  Yet  it  ought  to  be  a  relation  of  friendship  and  co- 
operation. So  it  may  be  if  we  will  take  thought  for  the  things 
that  make  for  friendship  and  peace.  Yet  one  who  lives  midway 
between  the  East  and  the  West  is  sometimes  pained  to  see  how 
each  misinterprets  the  other,  and  is  often  constrained  to  wish 
for  a  better  understanding  between  them.  I  cannot  help  re- 
garding this  as  one  of  our  vital  national  social  needs. 

The  other  national  need  of  which  I  would  speak  is  a  clearly 
defined  national  social  purpose.     I  doubt  if  the  ideal  with  which 

^Discussion  at  the  meeting  of  the  Academy  of  Political  Science,  April  19,  1912. 

(590) 


TWO  NATIONAL  SOCIAL  NEEDS 


117 


our  fathers  set  out  is  adequate  to-day  to  command  and  organize 
and  unify  our  national  social  life.  It  is  true  that  their  watch- 
word was  democracy,  but  democracy  as  they  conceived  it  was 
simply  the  child  of  liberty.  Make  way  for  liberty,  and  de- 
mocracy was  sure  to  follow.  A  free  field  for  endeavor  the  state 
must  furnish.  Within  that  field  men  must  be  let  alone  to  work 
out  their  fortunes.  I  do  not  mean  that  this  was  the  whole  of 
the  political  philosophy  of  the  fathers,  but  they  put  the  em- 
phasis on  this,  and  their  faith  was  strong  that  liberty  was  the 
sovereign  solution  of  all  social  problems.  We  have  come  to 
the  point  where  we  can  see  that  this  idea  must  be  greatly  ex- 
panded, and  perhaps  subordinated  to  a  higher  idea.  It  is 
beginning  to  be  evident  that  our  nation  has  a  larger  and  worthier 
task  than  merely  to  set  the  people  free.  It  must  show  them 
how  to  work  together  for  the  common  good.  The  ideal  state 
is  not  one  that  is  content  to  form  a  ring,  to  furnish  ropes  and 
an  umpire,  to  formulate  rules  of  the  game,  and  then  invite  its 
citizens  to  go  in  for  a  free  fight.  It  is  one  which  assumes 
rather  that  the  normal  relations  of  men  are  those  of  cooperation 
instead  of  conflict,  and  that  the  business  of  the  state  is  not  to 
furnish  a  ring  for  a  struggle,  but  to  assist  and  foster  and  direct 
all  useful  and  practicable  cooperations.  This  is  not  saying  that 
all  industries  shall  be  managed  collectively,  for  I  doubt  if  that 
is  possible.  Many  of  them  can  best  be  left  to  individual  initia- 
tive, but  many  of  the  most  important  of  them  are  managed  now 
by  the  cooperation  of  all  of  us  through  the  commonwealth,  and 
that  number  will  surely  be  considerably  increased.  I  am  think- 
ing not  so  much  of  the  economic  as  of  the  social  aspects  of  this 
problem.  Rather,  I  mean  that  the  social  aspects  must  take 
precedence  in  our  national  thinking.  The  human  fact  is  first, 
the  economic  fact  second.  We  are  brothers  before  we  are 
competitors.  On  the  deck  of  the  Titanic  we  get  down  to  primal 
relations.  Competition  is  barred.  We  are  helpers  one  of 
another.  That  is  what  makes  civilization  possible,  and  it  is  this 
great  truth  which  must  be  recognized  and  made  fundamental  in 
national  life.  All  our  commonwealths  must  be  based  on  right 
human  relations.  Not  strife,  but  good  will,  is  the  regulative 
principle  of  human  society. 

(591) 


RECREATION  AND  YOUTH  ^ 

DR.  LUTHER  H.  GULICK 

RECREATION  I  shall  discuss  from  two  standpoints. 
First,  from  the  standpoint  of  social  engineering,  I 
propose  to  consider  a  definite  plan  of  a  constructive 
character  which  has  been  put  into  operation.  This  plan  has 
endeavored  to  correlate  the  various  human  incentives  to  activity 
with  the  known  methods  of  social  progress,  in  order  to  discover 
whether  a  social  organization  could  be  made  so  large  that  it 
would  reach  a  great  portion  of  all  the  girls  of  America,  so 
simple  that  average  people  could  run  it,  and  so  beautiful  that 
the  girls  would  want  to  enter  it,  not  because  it  was  good  but 
because  it  was  beautiful  and  romantic.  So  far  as  I  know,  noth- 
ing of  this  precise  kind  has  ever  before  been  attempted,  and  as 
a  pure  experiment  in  the  field  of  social  engineering  it  is  perhaps 
worthy  of  consideration. 

The  second  standpoint  is  that  of  the  philosophy  of  construc- 
tion as  contrasted  with  the  philosophy  of  prevention.  No  living 
mountain  stream  can  be  dammed  with  safety,  no  matter  what 
devastation  the  spring  freshets  may  bring.  The  evil  will  only 
be  accentuated  by  damming,  and  the  disaster  made  greater. 
The  only  thing  worth  while  that  can  be  done  is  to  provide  a 
better  bed  for  the  stream. 

Human  instincts  and  desires  are  the  great  flowing  streams  of 
human  life.  It  is  not  to  be  considered  that  human  instincts 
and  desires  should  be  dammed,  lest  they  go  astray  and  do 
damage.     Damming  them  only  produces  added  devastation. 

The  Chicago  vice  report  was  a  strong  and  able  piece  of 
work,  but  to  my  mind  utterly  hopeless.  To  spend  serious  time 
and  effort  in  this  day  and  generation  surveying  the  amount  of 
damage  which  comes  because  a  great  stream  has  broken  its  dam 
and  is  devastating  the  country  below  it,  to  measure  the  amount 

*  Read  at  the  meeting  of  the  Academy  of  Political  Science,  April  19,  1912. 

(592) 


RECREATION  AND  YOUTH 


119 


of  the  devastation  and  resolve  merely  to  build  bigger  and  better 
dams  against  the  evil  is  fatuous.  The  tremendous  task  society 
must  perform  is  to  find  out  what  constitute  wholesome  relations 
between  men  and  women  under  the  new  conditions  of  our  cities. 
Boys  and  girls  no  longer  have  the  wholesome  things  to  do  in 
the  community  which  during  all  ages  they  have  had  to  do ;  that 
is,  we  have  put  up  the  dams.  We  all  know  well  enough  that 
broken  dams  make  endless  waste.  Our  effort  and  our  skill  must 
be  devoted  to  finding  means  whereby  the  splendid  instinctive 
feelings  of  life  may  have  splendid  course.  It  is  not  merely 
that  the  river  must  be  prevented  from  doing  harm,  but  the 
water  of  life  itself  must  not  be  wasted,  because  our  desires,  our 
hopes,  our  ambitions,  the  things  we  love,  constitute  life  itself. 
It  is  not  eating  nor  working  nor  sleeping  that  makes  life  signifi- 
cant ;  it  is  the  things  that  we  desire,  the  things  that  we  hope  for, 
the  adventure  of  life  itself. 

Because  of  the  machine,  and  the  necessary  routine  ways  of 
working  due  to  the  machine,  life  for  a  great  many  people  has 
become  full  of  drudgery,  and  against  steady  drudgery  human 
life  revolts.  At  a  recent  meeting  in  Cooper  Union  a  young 
man  in  the  audience  told  how  he  went  to  bed  every  night,  slept, 
got  up  every  morning  and  went  to  work,  back  home  again  at 
night  and  to  bed,  and  that  was  all  of  life  there  was  for  him. 
That  represents  the  possible  attainment  of  life  for  a  large  frac- 
tion of  our  population,  but  that  is  not  living.  Adventure  is  the 
fundamental  thing  of  the  soul.  Without  brilliant  color  in  liv- 
ing, without  possible  human  attainment,  aside  from  drudgery, 
life  appears  insignificant. 

The  movement  of  which  I  speak,  the  Campfire  Girls,  is  an 
attempt  to  show  that  romance  and  adventure  belong  to  every 
day.  The  old  days  of  physical  adventure  have  gone  for  most 
of  us.  Present-day  adventure  must  be  in  the  social  field,  the 
most  available  unexplored  world.  If  we  can  provide  ways  in 
which  adventure  can  count  in  connection  with  everyday  work, 
we  may  help  direct  the  flow  of  the  powerful  streams  of  human 
instinct,  those  tremendous  streams  which  lead  boys  and  girls  in 
their  teens  to  want  to  know  each  other.  Merely  to  try  to  pre- 
vent the  bad  dance-hall  and  to  dam  up  the  other  channels  of 

(593) 


120  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.11 

this  kind  without  giving  attention  to  the  providing  of  a  new 
and  better  bed  for  the  stream  is  inadequate.  This  movement 
is  an  attempt  to  find  adventure  related  to  daily  life  in  the 
everyday  world. 

When  a  girl  appears  before  her  Campfire  and  reports  that 
she  has  learned  to  make  ten  standard  soups ;  or  that  she  is  able 
to  recognize  fifteen  kinds  of  birds  by  their  songs ;  or  that  she  can 
describe  three  kinds  of  baby  cries  and  tell  the  cause  of  each ; — 
things  which  are  equally  matters  of  scientific  observation — or 
that  she  has  walked  forty  miles  in  ten  days,  walking  to  and  from 
the  office  or  in  the  woods ;  or  that  she  has  slept  for  two  months 
with  windows  open ;  or  that  she  has  kept  a  daily  classified  ac- 
count for  one  month;  or  that  she  has  organized  the  girls  of 
her  street  to  beautify  their  yards,  and  that  she  has  received 
for  each  of  these  an  award  of  honor,  something  which  can  be 
added  to  her  attire,  the  spirit  of  romance  has  been  suggested 
to  her.  Perhaps  to  receive  this  honor  she  wears  her  ceremonial 
costume,  a  straight  dress  of  galatea  with  fringe  on  the  borders, 
^hich  she  has  made  herself  at  a  total  cost  of  sixty  cents.  Pos- 
sibly her  camp  name  is  the  Raven  and  she  wears  a  head  dress 
suggestive  of  the  name  she  bears  as  she  stands  very  straight  to 
receive  the  beads  which  are  the  symbol  of  award — the  red  beads 
which  indicate  attainment  in  health,  or  the  blue  beads,  forming 
a  necklace,  which  indicate  attainment  in  out-of-door  craft,  or 
those  beads  which  indicate  proficiency  in  domestic  things,  tak- 
ing care  of  the  baby  for  a  month,  planning  the  family  expendi- 
ture for  food  at  $2  a  week  for  each  person,  and  seeing  that  it 
is  carried  out,  doing  the  family  marketing  for  one  month — as  she 
stands  before  the  Campfire  and  receives  these  tokens,  the 
things  which  are  everyday  drudgery  are  thereby  indicated  as 
romantic  and  adventuresome. 

When  a  girl  is  learning  to  distinguish  three  kinds  of  baby 
cries  or  to  make  ten  standard  soups,  it  is  not  a  part  of  an  un- 
measured, long-continued  daily  grind ;  putting  the  girl's  work 
into  definite  attainable  parts  makes  possible  for  the  first  time 
the  measurement  of  woman's  work.  The  most  profound  dif- 
ference at  present  between  the  work  of  men  and  women,  in  the 
production  of  mechanical  things,  is  that  man's  work  is  measured 

(594) 


I 


No.  4]  RECREA TION  AND  YOUTH  1 2 1 

by  dollars  or  pounds  or  inches,  and  women's  work  is  unmeas- 
ured. No  scientific  adjustment  is  possible  save  upon  a  basis  of 
measurement,  and  woman's  work  has  never  been  measured ;  it 
is  simply  repetition,  one  thing  after  another,  without  begin- 
ning, without  end.  Women  and  girls  no  longer  have  their 
status  in  a  community  because  of  doing  woman's  work  or  fem- 
inine things.  They  are  known  by  other  things  not  necessarily 
feminine,  which  are  merely  human.  Women  have  never  ac- 
quired status  according  to  the  new  standards  of  measurement, 
and  the  old  standards  are  going.  The  consequence  is  that 
woman's  work  has  become  simply  an  endless  round  of  drudgery. 
The  Campfire  movement  is  an  attempt  at  regularity  in  handling 
all  the  things  of  daily  life  which  are  worth  while,  except  those 
of  the  school,  which  already  has  an  accepted  status,  and  to  cut 
them  up  into  parcels  that  are  attainable,  thus  serving  as  a  basis 
for  romantic  achievement. 

It  seems  at  first  as  if  this  were  merely  a  device  to  throw  a 
bit  of  glamor  over  things  which  are  in  themselves  dull  and 
gray  and  leaden.  But  it  is  much  more  than  this.  It  is  not  a 
disguise,  but  a  transformation.  Sleeping  with  one's  window 
open  because  it  is  one's  duty  is  an  entirely  different  thing  from 
doing  it  because  it  is  one  step  in  an  adventure.  Learning  to  care 
for  the  table  and  to  cook  because  it  is  a  thing  every  girl  should 
know  is  one  thing;  learning  to  make  ten  standard  soups,  or 
two  ways  of  making  bread,  or  four  ways  of  making  cake,  or 
four  ways  of  cooking  left-over  meat,  because  they  are  part  of  a 
definite  social  status,  is  quite  another  thing. 

Aside  from  making  the  daily  life  show  the  adventure  side 
there  is  another  reason  for  this  sort  of  thing.  During  these 
two  generations  woman's  world  is  being  readjusted.  Instead  of 
being  merely  in  the  home,  woman's  work  has  gone  out  into  the 
community,  but  it  remains  still  woman's  work.  Education,  the 
work  of  marketing,  the  care  of  the  laundry  have  all  practically 
gone  out.  Marketing  is  done  in  stores,  bread  is  cooked  in  the 
bakery,  not  at  home,  our  laundry  is  cared  for  in  laundries;  but 
all  this  nevertheless  remains  woman's  work.  If  the  work  is 
badly  done  the  reason  is  that  she  has  let  go  her  age-long  task, 
she  has  not  yet  followed  it  out  of  the  home  as  she  should.     If 

(595) 


122 


ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK 


woman  is  to  have  the  same  kind  of  relation  to  the  world's  work 
in  the  future  that  she  has  had  in  the  past,  she  must  reach  out 
in  the  community  and  take  hold  again  of  those  things  which 
have  always  been  fundamentally  feminine.  That  is  the  new 
patriotism.  The  movement  of  women  toward  the  stores,  fac- 
tories and  workshops  is  but  the  first  step  toward  the  readjust- 
ment of  women  to  the  work  of  the  world. 

(596) 


REGULATION  OF  PUBLIC  AMUSEMENTS^ 

MRS.  BELLE  LINDNER  ISRAELS 
Chairman,  Committee  on  Amusement  Resources  of  Working  Girls 

IT  is  only  three  and  a  half  years  since  the  first  suggestion  was 
made  that  public  amusements  might  be  regulated  by 
statute ;  and  we  were  told  then  by  thinkers  and  students 
that  we  were  planning  an  almost  impossible  thing.  Yet  to-day 
we  are  discussing  the  regulation  of  public  amusements  as  a 
national  social  question. 

In  the  city  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  on  any  Saturday  night,  there 
are  ten  thousand  boys  and  girls  in  public  dance-halls,  and  we 
do  not  know  how  many  additional  thousands  in  motion-picture 
shows  and  theaters  or  attending  private  parties.  In  the  city  of 
Wilkesbarre,  Pennsylvania,  where  they  have  a  population  of 
about  65,000,  between  five  and  six  thousand  people  nightly  are 
visiting  amusement  places  of  all  kinds,  dance-halls,  motion- 
picture  shows,  vaudeville  theaters  and  the  like.  In  New  York 
city  in  any  one  week  about  one  hundred  thousand  boys  and 
girls  may  learn  to  dance  in  dancing  academies  alone.  In  view 
of  such  facts  is  it  not  worth  while  to  consider  whether  the  com- 
munity ought  to  regulate  public  amusements? 

Have  we  no  responsibility  toward  the  thousands  of  young 
people  who,  night  after  night,  throughout  the  whole  country, 
make  use  of  public  amusement  facilities  ?  The  story  is  the  same 
in  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Boston,  Chicago,  Denver,  San  Fran- 
cisco. Everywhere  we  find  the  same  standards,  the  same  re- 
sources, affording  the  same  resulting  dangers,  the  same  class  of 
people  making  use  of  these  places,  and,  alas,  the  same  ignorance 
with  regard  to  the  effect  on  the  lives  of  young  people. 

There  are  only  two  methods  by  which  we  may  deal  with  the 
problem  of  public  amusements.  One  is  regulation  by  statute, 
and  the  other  is  regulation  by  public  opinion.  Regulation  by 
statute  works,  if  the  statute  is  adequate  and  receives  sincere 
enforcement.     New  York  is  the  pioneer  in  regulation  by  statute. 

*  Read  at  the  meeting  of  the  Academy  of  Political  Science,  April  19,  191 2. 

(597) 


124  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.  II 

Fifteen  cities  throughout  the  country  have  followed  New  York's 
example  and  either  have  enacted  regulations  governing  public 
amusements  or  are  considering  it,  and  in  six  other  cities  the 
question  of  regulation  is  being  studied  and  has  not  yet  reached 
the  stage  of  submission  to  the  public.  An  efficient  regulation 
of  public  amusements  must  take  account  of  two  things:  the 
amusements  themselves  and  the  conditions  under  which  the 
amusements  are  offered.  No  regulation  is  effectual  that  simply 
considers  the  amusement  by  itself.  Statutory  regulation  of  the 
dance  hall  to-day  deals  primarily  with  the  conditions  under 
which  dancing  is  offered.  It  licenses  premises  in  which  dancing 
goes  on,  and  in  only  two  cities,  thus  far,  has  it  gone  farther  than 
that  and  dealt  with  the  amusement  itself  or  with  the  individuals 
offering  that  amusement.  In  the  cities  where  the  dance-hall 
regulation  has  gone  so  far  as  to  require  that  every  public  dance 
offered  shall  have  a  license,  the  regulation  has  been  most  effec- 
tive ;  it  therefore  seems  reasonably  clear  that  that  is  the  only 
way  in  which  we  can  effectively  regulate  public  dancing.  First, 
we  must  place  conditions  upon  the  conduct  of  the  premises 
themselves,  and  then  upon  the  kind  of  amusements  taking  place 
on  those  premises. 

This  applies  with  equal  force  to  the  motion-picture  theater, 
the  vaudeville  theater,  and  the  burlesque  show.  For  a  few 
years,  until  we  educate  public  opinion,  we  may  need  a  moral 
and  educational  censorship.  This  ought  to  be  cooperative  as 
between  managers  of  amusement  enterprises  and  the  public. 
This  would  prevent  such  obscenities  as  are  to-day  being  uttered 
upon  the  boards  of  some  of  the  burlesque  theaters  in  New  York 
from  coming  before  the  enormous  audiences  of  boys  and  young 
men  who  frequent  them. 

Public  opinion  regulates  all  forms  of  amusements,  not  only 
those  requiring  an  admission  fee,  but  the  public  parks  and  the 
free  amusements  offered  by  the  city.  Public  opinion  says  how 
many  lights  there  shall  be  in  a  park  at  night ;  how  many  lights 
there  shall  be  on  a  recreation  pier ;  what  kind  of  people  shall 
supervise  these  places;  what  sort  of  amusements  they  shall 
offer,  in  addition  to  being  breathing  spots  or  ornamental  show 
places.  Public  opinion  may  also  regulate  private  enterprise, 
but  public  opinion  has  to  be  educated  to  appreciate  the  need 

(598) 


No.  4]  REGULA  TION  OF  PUBLIC  AMUSEMENTS  1 2  5 

for  regulating  private  enterprise.  Private  amusement  enterprises 
to-day  are  the  open  door  for  the  social  evil.  It  is  in  these 
places  of  amusement  where  girls  go  unguarded  and  unsupervised 
that  they  are  sought  for  by  men  and  women  who  mean  no  good 
to  them.  We  have  the  right  to  demand  that  these  places  shall 
be  socially  supervised  since  they  cannot  be  personally  super- 
vised. By  social  supervision  I  mean  the  supervision  that  is 
given  by  the  community  as  a  whole  through  inspection.  Until 
we  have  sufficient  publicity  regarding  the  conditions  of  public 
amusement  enterprises,  we  shall  not  have  efficient  public  cen- 
sorship of  the  kind  that  really  forms  and  guides  public  opinion 
into  action.  The  needs  of  the  poor  are  something  broader  and 
more  human  than  merely  shelter,  clothing  and  sufficient  food. 
The  little  child,  the  boy  and  girl  and  the  father  and  mother 
need  a  relief  from  the  tasks  of  the  daily  round  of  life  just  as 
keenly  as  they  need  food  and  clothing  and  shelter.  We  bring 
art  into  our  lives  because  of  its  cultural  and  softening  influence 
upon  ourselves  and  our  children.  We  need  to  bring  it  whole- 
somely and  carefully  and  sanely  into  the  lives  of  all  our  people ; 
we  need  to  see  that  they  get  the  right  kind  of  recreation,  because 
recreation  is  an  art,  too.  The  wrong  kind  of  recreation  has  dis- 
astrous results ;  the  right  kind,  even  if  it  be  so  humble  a  thing 
as  a  five-cent  moving-picture  show,  may  bring  about  an  uplift 
that  is  equal  to  almost  any  form  of  art.  The  film  that  shows 
Indian  life  in  Bombay  may  open  a  whole  new  world  to  a  woman 
who  has  had  neither  life  nor  soul  outside  of  her  washtubs  all  day. 
Thus  we  owe  a  public  duty  to  each  of  the  millions  of  people 
availing  themselves  of  the  commercial  forms  of  recreation. 
We  must  see  to  it  that  the  places  where  they  are  offered  amuse- 
ment are  safe  and  wholesome  and  decent,  and  that  the  wrong 
kind  of  people  are  kept  out.  It  can  be  done  by  statute.  It 
can  be  required  that  every  night  in  the  week  there  shall  be 
someone  whose  duty  it  is  to  see  that  every  place  in  the  city  is 
properly  conducted.  An  inspector  of  dance  halls  can  be  re- 
quired, as  in  Cleveland,  to  know  not  only  every  dance  hall  in  his 
city,  but  the  committee  of  every  club  which  applies  for  the  use 
of  any  of  those  dance  halls.  He  should  determine  whether 
the  group  which  represents  **  The  Jolly  Tumblers  "  or  *'  The 
Four  Leaved  Clover  "  is  a  proper  group  to  be  allowed  to  con- 

(599) 


126  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK 

duct  a  public  ball  to  which  girls  may  come.  Not  only  can 
this  be  done,  but  it  is  being  done.  There  is  at  least  one  man 
who  knows  and  controls  absolutely,  by  virtue  of  statutory  power, 
just  what  goes  on  in  every  public  ball-room  in  the  city  of  which 
he  is  the  public  inspector. 

For  a  practical  working  program  in  the  regulation  of  public 
amusements  the  first  requirement  is  knowledge.  The  church, 
the  school  and  social  organizations  of  every  kind  need  to  know 
at  first  hand  what  the  amusement  forces  of  their  neighborhood 
are ;  need  to  know  what  they  are  doing,  and  how  they  affect 
the  lives  of  the  people.  On  this  basis  they  must  make  out  a 
constructive  program. 

Any  constructive  plan  must  allow  not  only  for  regulation, 
but  for  substitution  of  the  right  kind  of  resources  for  the 
wrong  kind.  The  city  must  have  recreation  centers  and 
amusement  places  conducted  for  the  people  who  cannot,  or 
will  not,  or  need  not  pay  for  what  they  get.  The  city  owes  a 
recreational  duty  to  these  people.  But  we  must  also  keep  a 
watchful  eye  upon  what  is  offered  to  the  public  commercially 
in  the  guise  of  amusement.  If  we  are  able  to  show  to  the 
management  of  all  amusement  places  that  we  can  control  their 
audiences  so  as  to  make  it  pay  to  offer  wholesome,  decent  per- 
formances, they  will  give  such  .performances.  Once  we  can 
show  the  dance  hall  that  it  need  not  sell  liquor  or  entertain  the 
underworld  in  order  to  make  money,  we  have  taken  a  long 
step  toward  making  dancing  as  wholesome  and  safe  as  it 
ought  to  be. 

Fundamentally,  however,  we  must  admit  to  ourselves  and  to 
the  world  that  young  people  and  old  ones  as  well  need  and  will 
have  recreation.  Play  is  not  a  luxury,  but  an  absolute  neces- 
sity to  the  working  world  to-day.  The  regulation  of  amuse- 
ment is  nothing  more  than  the  extension,  socially,  broadly, 
generally,  of  the  supervision  that  wise  men  and  women  give  in 
a  private  capacity  to  the  young  people  with  whom  they  associ- 
ate from  day  to  day.  Even  though  we  do  not  personally 
associate  with  the  boys  and  girls  who  make  up  the  five 
millions  annually  using  the  dance-halls  in  New  York  city,  we 
must  appreciate  our  responsibilities  toward   them.     We  tend 

rapidly  to  that  point. 

(600) 


COMMERCIALIZED  VICE^ 

GEORGE  J.  KNEELAND  ^ 
Director  Department  of  Investigation,  American  Vigilance  Association 

TO  my  mind  the  most  significant  fact  brought  to  light  by 
the  report  of  the  Chicago  Vice  Commission  is  this,  that 
public  prostitution  is  a  commercialized  business  of  large 
proportions,  yielding  tremendous  profits  each  year,  and  con- 
trolled largely  by  men  and  not  by  women  as  is  commonly 
supposed. 

The  yearly  profit  from  this  business  in  Chicago  is  estimated 
to  be  over  $15,000,000.  This  statement  is  based  upon  daily 
account  books  kept  by  keepers  of  houses  of  ill-fame,  some  of 
them  used  as  exhibits  in  court  cases,  and  in  addition  those 
seized  in  raids  upon  such  houses  by  the  authorities.  It  is  also 
based  upon  the  testimony  of  madams  and  inmates  of  houses, 
on  the  known  profits  from  the  rental  of  property  and  from  the 
sale  of  liquor  in  houses  and  saloons  where  women  are  permitted 
to  solicit  and  sell  drinks  on  a  twenty  or  forty  per  cent 
commission. 

That  this  estimate  of  yearly  profits  is  ultra-conservative  is 
seen  from  the  fact  that  it  is  based  upon  the  exploitation  of  only 
3194  professional  prostitutes,  who  were  actually  known  to  the 
police  or  were  discovered  by  the  investigators  for  the  Vice 
Commission. 

The  recent  report  of  an  investigation  of  the  police  depart- 
ment in  Chicago  by  the  civil  service  commission  declared  that 
the  number  of  professional  prostitutes  in  that  city  was  nearer 
20,000  than  5,000  and  that   15,000  is  a  conservative  estimate. 

The  second  significant  fact  brought  out  by  the  Chicago  re- 
port is  that  this  enormous  profit  goes  not  only  to  degenerate 
and  vicious  men  who  make  a  profession  of  the  exploitation  of 

^  Read  at  the  meeting  of  the  Academy  of  Political  Science,  April  19,  1912. 
'  Formerly  Director  of  Investigation,  Vice  Commission  of  Chicago. 

(601) 


128  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.  II 

women,  but  is  shared  also  by  ostensibly  respectable  men  and 
women  in  the  community  who  rent  or  lease  their  property  for 
this  business.  What  is  true  in  Chicago  is  true  in  every  other 
large  American  city  where  the  social  vice  is  tolerated  or  at  least 
winked  at  by  the  public  and  the  authorities. 

These  facts  explain  many  of  the  difficulties  met  with  in 
securing  adequate  enforcement  of  state  laws  and  city  ordinances 
in  certain  municipalities.  They  explain  why  efforts  to  secure 
the  revocation  of  licenses  of  disorderly  saloons  and  disreputable 
hotels  are  so  meager  of  results.  They  are  at  the  basis  of  the 
demoralization  of  police  discipline.  They  furnish  some  of  the 
sinews  of  war  whereby  corrupt  politicians  are  elevated  to  power. 
With  these  facts  in  mind,  why  do  we  wonder  at  the  extent  of 
the  white-slave  traffic,  and  the  difficulty  of  securing  proper  pun- 
ishment, or  any  punishment  at  all,  for  many  of  those  who  buy 
and  sell  our  women  and  girls? 

This  profit  is  the  reason  for  the  army  of  "  cadets,"  politi- 
cal guerrillas,  exploiters  and  scoundrels  who  live  on  the  earnings 
of  these  unfortunate  women  who  are  led  to  think  the  life  easy. 

It  also  accounts  for  the  other  commercial  interests  that  sup- 
port and  live  upon  this  evil — the  druggists,  the  fake  doctors,  the 
costumers  and  all  those  who  cater  to  the  trade  of  the  prostitute. 
She  is  peculiarly  susceptible  to  all  forms  of  graft ;  for  every- 
thing she  buys  she  pays  more  than  a  double  price  in  actual 
dollars. 

Whenever  an  attempt  is  made  to  study  the  social  evil  and  to 
offer  recommendations  for  its  repression  we  hear  the  conten- 
tion from  the  morally  inert  that  nothing  can  be  done ;  that  this 
evil  **  always  has  existed  and  always  will."  We  may  grant  for 
the  moment  that  a  certain  proportion  of  unfortunate  women 
always  have  drifted  and  perhaps  always  will  drift  into  profes- 
sionally immoral  lives  through  inherited  vicious  tendencies. 
But  let  us  have  faith  enough  in  womanhood  to  believe  that  this 
percentage  is  small,  and  that  the  great  majority — and  some  hold 
eighty  per  cent  of  the  total— take  up  the  life  through  ignorance, 
are  forced  into  it  against  their  will  or  are  driven  into  it  by  the 
deception,  lust  and  greed  of  men.  We  believe  that  certain  of 
these  conditions  can  be  corrected,  and  many  women  and  girls 
of  the  future  saved  to  society. 

(602) 


No.  4]  COMMERCIALIZED  VICE  1 29 

Realizing  these  facts  The  American  Vigilance  Association/ 
recently  organized,  has  conceived  a  program  of  work  which 
strikes  at  the  root  of  the  problem.  The  plan  of  operation  is 
centralized  in  eight  departments,  namely : 

Organization  and  Promotion 

Legislation  and  Law  Enforcement 

International  Co-Operation 

Investigation 

Library  and  Editorial 

Literature 

Education 

Rescue  and  Protection 

As  an  illustration,  through  the  department  of  organization 
and  promotion  the  association  desires  to  interest  a  large  num- 
ber of  citizens  and  organizations,  and  to  correlate  so  far  as 
possible  the  work  of  philanthropists,  educators  and  reformers. 

In  time  it  is  planned  to  have  city,  state  and  foreign  powers 
so  effectually  aroused  and  cooperating  to  such  an  extent  that 
the  men  exploiters  of  women  and  the  white  slavers  will  be 
completely  exterminated. 

When  a  town  or  city  desires  to  join  in  the  campaign  against 
commercialized  vice,  the  association  will  be  prepared  to  assist 
it.  As  a  practical  program  it  will  recommend,  first,  a  careful 
survey  and  study  of  vice  conditions  in  the  city ;  next,  upon  the 
basis  of  a  convincing  and  reliable  report,  a  campaign  to  arouse 
the  public  conscience  to  its  moral  and  civic  duty ;  third,  the 
securing  of  convictions,  with  the  aid  of  public  opinion  and  by 
help  of  lawyers  skilled  in  conducting  this  particular  class  of 
prosecutions ;  and  lastly,  so  far  as  is  practicable,  an  educational 
campaign  for  the  betterment  of  public  and  private  morals. 

'  New  York  address,  156  Fifth  avenue.     Chicago,  105  West  Monroe  street. 

(603) 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  WAYWARD  GIRLS  AND 
DELINQUENT  WOMEN 

MAUDE   E.  MINER 

Secretary  of  the  New  York  Probation  Association 

WE  are  only  beginning  to  study  the  problem  of  the  way- 
ward girl  and  to  discover  something  about  the  causes 
of  her  waywardness  and  the  best  method  of  treating 
her  after  she  has  become  delinquent.  If  we  can  fully  under- 
stand the  girls  and  women  who  are  now  passing  through  the 
courts  and  prisons  and  deal  effectively  with  them,  a  larger 
number  can  ultimately  be  returned  to  society  as  useful  members 
and  in  the  future  many  can  be  prevented  from  reaching  the 
courts.  We  have  long  been  accustomed  to  consider  the  sen- 
tence imposed  upon  the  woman  offender  by  the  court  as  a  pun- 
ishment, having  as  its  object  the  deterring  of  women  from  similar 
acts  in  the  future  and  the  protecting  of  society  by  incarcerating 
the  criminal.  More  recently  a  new  light  has  been  dawning  on 
the  horizon  and  we  have  been  seeing  that  the  women  are  not 
really  criminal  and  that  the  interests  of  society  can  be  better 
served  by  helping  rather  than  by  punishing  them.  What 
methods  can  be  employed  to  help  in  the  wisest  and  best  way 
those  who  have  reached  the  courts  and  by  what  means  we  can 
prevent  more  young  girls  from  joining  the  ranks  of  the  wayward 
and  becoming  delinquent,  are  the  most  important  questions  in 
connection  with  the  problem  of  the  delinquent  girl. 

The  offenses  for  which  girls  and  women  are  brought  to  the 
courts  include  soliciting  on  the  streets  for  prostitution,  intoxica- 
tion, vagrancy,  incorrigibility,  larceny,  and  the  more  serious 
crimes  of  robbery,  forgery  and  the  like.  Only  a  small  per- 
centage of  the  convicted  women  are  found  guilty  of  the  serious 
offenses  and  we  find  that  there  is  no  criminal  class  of  women,  as 
such,  living  by  their  acts  of  crime.  Of  the  11,273  cases  in 
which  women  were  convicted  or  held  for  trial  in  a  higher  court 
in  the  boroughs  of  Manhattan  and  the  Bronx  during  the  year 

(604) 


WAYWARD  GIRLS  AND  DELINQUENT  WOMEN      131 

191 1,  only  256  cases  involved  a  crime  of  the  grade  of  felony. 
The  largest  groups  were  composed  of  those  convicted  of  of- 
fenses relating  to  prostitution  and  intoxication.  By  far  the 
greatest  number  of  women  had  been  leading  a  professionally 
immoral  life. 

The  failure  of  the  present  method  of  dealing  with  the  women 
in  the  courts  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  so  many  return  to  the 
court  again  and  again  for  the  same  offense  and  that  in  such  a 
small  percentage  of  cases  is  anything  helpful  done.  Of  the 
1 1,273  cases  during  191 1,  there  were  4,869  commitments  to  the 
workhouse  on  Blackwell's  Island  and  3,820  fines  imposed.  In  the 
two  magistrates'  courts  in  the  borough  of  Manhattan  where  the 
largest  number  are  brought  for  prostitution — the  women's  night 
court  and  the  Jefferson  Market  day  court — there  were,  during 
191 1  >  5>3^5  arraignments  of  women  charged  with  soliciting  oh 
the  streets  and  carrying  on  prostitution  in  tenement  houses,  and 
4,739  convictions  in  these  cases.  This  number  represented 
2,612  different  women,  as  the  finger-print  record  showed  that 
there  were  2,127  repeaters  who  have  been  convicted  from  two 
to  eight  times.  Of  the  women  convicted  of  prostitution,  there 
were  3,329  commitments  to  the  workhouse  and  882  fines  im- 
posed. In  less  than  ten  per  cent  of  the  cases  were  women 
released  on  probation  or  committed  to  reformatory  institutions. 

The  workhouse  sentence  is  not  helpful  in  any  way  and  there 
is  no  reformative  influence  in  the  institution.  Between  500  and 
600  women  are  herded  in  1 3 1  cells  and  two  hospital  wards,  and 
frequently  there  are  four  or  five  or  even  a  larger  number  of 
women  in  one  cell.  Segregation  of  the  different  classes  of 
offenders  is  impossible,  and  women  arrested  for  intoxication, 
disorderly  conduct,  larceny  and  prostitution  mingle  freely 
together.  At  times  young  girls  seventeen  and  eighteen  years 
of  age  are  placed  in  the  same  cell  with  hardened  women. 
Nothing  is  done  to  help  the  women  when  they  leave  the  work- 
house and  the  only  way  open  to  them  is  to  return  to  their 
former  mode  of  living.  The  short  sentences  of  five  or  ten  days, 
of  which  there  are  so  many,  are  utterly  futile  and  do  not  deter 
the  women  from  continuing  their  life  of  prostitution  and  openly 
soliciting  on  the  streets. 

(605) 


132  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.11 

The  imposing  of  a  fine  of  from  $i  to  $io  serves  neither  to 
deter  nor  to  help  a  woman.  If  she  has  not  the  money  with 
which  to  pay  the  fine,  she  can  usually  secure  it  from  one  of  her 
friends  and  can  readily  pay  it  back  as  soon  as  she  returns  to 
her  life  of  prostitution.  The  number  of  fines  imposed  upon 
women  for  soliciting  on  the  streets  has  greatly  diminished  dur- 
ing the  last  year,  yet  many  were  imposed  during  191 1  for  this 
offense.  We  convict  men  and  send  them  to  prison  for  living 
on  the  earnings  of  prostitution  and  yet  without  protest  we  allow 
these  fines — the  proceeds  of  prostitution — to  enter  into  the 
sinking  fund  of  our  city.  The  fining  system  is  practically  a 
license  system  and  should  be  abolished. 

The  present  method  of  dealing  with  the  women,  as  we  see,  is 
inadequate  and  ineffective.  It  involves  immense  cost  to  the 
city  in  maintaining  courts,  station  houses,  district  prisons  and 
workhouse.  It  accomplishes  little  in  helping  these  women  or 
in  deterring  them  or  others  from  further  violation  of  the  law. 
Except  in  a  small  percentage  of  cases  of  women  released  on 
probation  and  committed  to  reformatory  institutions,  the  good 
of  the  individual  is  not  consulted  and  the  sentences  are  not  im- 
posed with  the  idea  that  the  defendant  will  be  improved  in  any 
way. 

How  can  we  more  effectively  help  the  woman  offender  who 
comes  into  the  courts?  By  thoroughly  understanding  the  needs 
of  the  individual  and  applying  a  method  of  treatment  suited  to 
those  individual  needs. 

The  judge  sitting  in  the  court  of  justice  with  the  evidence 
before  him  can  quickly  decide  upon  the  guilt  or  innocence  of 
the  accused,  but  he  cannot  quickly  judge  as  to  the  wisest  and 
best  method  of  dealing  with  the  offender.  That  must  be  based 
upon  a  thorough  knowledge  and  investigation  of  the  past  his- 
tory and  character  of  the  woman  and  upon  adequate  mental 
and  physical  examinations. 

To  make  possible  an  adequate  study  of  the  individual  girl 
and  woman  and  to  determine  the  treatment  suited  to  the  needs 
of  the  individual,  the  work  of  the  judge  should  cease  after  the 
defendant  has  been  convicted  and  a  commission  composed  of 
specialists  should  have  charge  of  investigations  and  examina- 

(606) 


No.4l      WAYWARD  GIRLS  AND  DELINQUENT  WOMEN     133 

tions  necessary  to  decide  what  disposition  should  be  made  in 
the  cases,  and  should  have  power  to  make  such  final  dispositions. 
A  summary  of  this  proposed  plan  is  as  follows : 

I.  Appointment  of  a  commission  of  specialists  to  receive 
under  commitment  women  convicted  by  the  courts. 

II.  Thorough  investigation  and  examination  of  convicted 
women  under  the  direction  of  the  commission.     This  includes : 

(i)  The  taking  of  a  complete  history  and  record. 

(2)  Investigation  of  past  history,  home  environment  and 
previous  work. 

(3)  Mental  examination  to  determine  whether  women 
are  feeble-minded,  insane  or  constitutionally  inferior,  and  a  study 
of  character  defects. 

(4)  Physical  examination  to  determine  whether  women 
are  suffering  from  venereal  disease,  tuberculosis  or  other  in- 
fectious disease  and  are  in  need  of  medical  care. 

III.  Commitment  of  convicted  women  to  suitable  reformatory 
and  custodial  institutions  and  a  restricted  use  of  the  probation 
system : 

(i)  Release  on  probation  of  those  who  can  reasonably 
be  expected  to  reform  in  view  of  their  mental,  physical  and 
moral  condition,  without  commitment  to  an  institution. 

(2)  Commitment  to  custodial  institutions  of  those  need- 
ing permanent  care  because  of  mental  condition. 

(  3  )  Commitment  to  the  New  York  State  Reformatory  for 
Women  at  Bedford  and  the  New  York  State  Farm  for  Women 
of  those  eligible  to  these  institutions. 

(4)  Commitment  of  those  needing  institutional  care,  not 
eligible  to  other  institutions,  to  an  industrial  farm  colony  under 
the  control  of  the  commission,  to  be  established  in  place  of  the 
present  workhouse  on  BlackwelFs  Island. 

The  commission,  itself  an  unpaid  body  appointed  by  the 
mayor  of  the  city,  would  appoint  the  skilled  investigators,  physi- 
cian, neurologist  and  psychologist  required  for  the  work  of  in- 
vestigating the  cases  of  the  convicted  women  and  making  the 
necessary  examinations.  The  decisions  reached  as  to  the  best 
disposition  of  each  case  would  be-  the  result  of  the  combined 
reports  of  these  experts. 

(607) 


134  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.11 

In  making  investigations  of  the  cases  all  statements  which 
help  to  an  understanding  of  the  individual  should  be  verified. 
As  far  as  possible  the  causes  responsible  for  bringing  her  into 
trouble  should  be  determined.  If  the  girl's  home  is  in  a  city- 
other  then  New  York,  investigations  should  be  made  by  proba- 
tion officers  or  some  other  duly  authorized  persons  there. 
When  she  has  been  in  an  orphan  asylum,  reformatory  or  other 
institution,  or  has  been  previously  arrested,  these  facts  should 
be  learned  and  the  reports  secured. 

In  the  large  number  of  cases  of  women  who  have  been  so- 
liciting on  the  streets,  special  effort  should  be  made  to  determine 
whether  or  not  they  have  been  associated  with  men  who  have 
been  living  on  the  earnings  of  prostitution,  or  who  have  pro- 
cured them  for  a  life  of  prostitution,  and  corroborative  evidence 
should  be  secured  for  the  arrest  and  conviction  of  such  persons. 
This  would  be  the  most  effective  means  of  breaking  up  the 
"  cadet"  system,  which  is  so  closely  connected  with  the  problem 
of  women  in  prostitution. 

The  mental  examinations  will  make  it  possible  to  determine 
those  who  are  mentally  deficient  and  who  are  in  need  of  perma- 
nent care.  This  class  constitutes  a  considerable  percentage  of 
the  women  convicted  of  prostitution,  although  it  is  unknown 
how  great  the  percentage  is.  As  the  result  of  careful  observa- 
tion, it  is  estimated  that  approximately  one-third  of  the  immoral 
girls  who  have  been  received  into  Waverley  House  are  subnor- 
mal mentally.  It  is  only  humane  to  care  permanently  for  these 
mentally  deficient  and  feeble-minded  women  in  custodial  institu- 
tions for  their  own  sake  and  in  order  to  prevent  increase  in 
number  of  this  class. 

Provision  must  be  made  for  the  different  classes  of  women  in 
suitable  institutions  where  they  will  receive  the  kind  of  treat- 
ment which  they  need.  To  take  the  place  of  the  present  work- 
house, there  is  needed  a  new  institution,  where  extended  obser- 
vation of  women  can  be  made,  if  necessary,  before  they  are 
transferred  to  other  institutions,  and  where  there  can  be  adequate 
provision  for  trade  instruction  and  medical  care.  The  habitual 
offenders — women  convicted  five  times  within  a  period  of  two 
years — can  be  sent  to  the  New  York  State  Farm  for  Women 

(608) 


No. 4]      WAYWARD  GIRLS  AND  DELINQUENT  WOMEN      135 

as  soon  as  that  institution  is  completed.  Many  of  the  older 
women  now  committed  to  the  workhouse  for  intoxication  would 
be  sent  to  the  state  farm  under  the  provision  of  the  present  law. 
Bedford  Reformatory  will  continue  to  receive  some  of  the  women 
under  thirty  years  of  age  who  have  been  convicted  of  prostitu- 
tion as  well  as  those  guilty  of  the  more  serious  offenses. 

Probation  remains  for  the  chosen  few  whose  minds  are  not 
too  poisoned  by  the  life  they  have  been  leading  and  for  whom 
there  seems  to  be  a  real  chance  of  reform  without  commitment 
to  an  institution.  Many  of  these  will  be  first  offenders  and 
there  will  be  others  who  have  been  convicted  before,  but  have 
never  had  a  chance  to  try  again.  Effective  probation  work  in- 
cludes visiting  the  women  in  their  homes,  securing  employment 
for  them,  relating  them  to  helpful  influences,  and  truly  befriend- 
ing them.  It  is  a  system  of  discipline  and  correction  outside  of 
an  institution,  dependent  for  its  success  largely  upon  the  careful 
selection  of  probationers  and  the  efficiency  and  fitness  of  the 
probation  officers.  The  period  of  probation  should  be  longer 
than  at  the  present  time  and  should  extend  over  a  year,  at  least, 
if  changes  in  character  and  life  are  to  be  effected.  In  case  of 
violation  of  the  terms  of  probation  the  women  should  be  re- 
turned to  the  commission  for  commitment. 

During  the  time  while  women  are  being  held  for  trial  they 
should  remain  in  a  house  of  detention,  instead  of  in  the  dis- 
trict prisons  as  at  the  present  time.  As  the  result  of  the  ex- 
periment made  at  Waverley  House,  officials  of  the  New  York 
Probation  Association  urged  upon  the  Inferior  Courts  Commis- 
sion the  necessity  of  providing  a  house  of  detention  where 
women  could  remain  while  investigations  were  being  made  to 
determine  the  best  disposition  in  their  cases,  and  where  the 
younger  girls  could  be  separated  from  the  older  women.  The 
Inferior  Courts  Law  passed  June  25,  19 10,  made  mandatory  the 
establishment  of  a  house  of  detention.  The  law  provided  as 
follows : 

There  shall  be  established  on  or  before  October  ist,  19 10,  a  place  of 
detention  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  commissioner  of  correction, 
convenient  to  the  night  court  for  women,  where  women  may  be  detained 

(609) 


136  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK  [Vol.11 

both  before  and  after  being  heard,  and  in  such  detention  place  the 
young  and  less  hardened  shall  be  segregated  so  far  as  practicable  from 
the  older  and  more  hardened  offenders. 

Provision  has  not  yet  been  made  for  this  house  of  detention 
although  repeated  requests  have  been  made  for  an  issue  of  cor- 
porate stock  necessary  for  its  erection.  It  is  planned  to  have  a 
new  building  erected  in  conjunction  with  a  court  for  women 
where  all  women  arrested  in  the  boroughs  of  Manhattan  and  the 
Bronx  will  be  arraigned.  The  court  room  on  the  ground  floor 
of  the  building  should  be  small,  so  as  to  accommodate  few 
spectators.  The  house  of  detention  should  contain  from  300 
to  350  single  rooms  instead  of  cells,  and  five  divisions  for  the 
different  classes, — three  for  white  and  two  for  colored  women. 
Offices  for  probation  officers,  psychologist  and  physician  should 
be  provided  in  this  building. 

By  having  the  women  arraigned  in  a  central  court,  providing 
for  them  adequately  in  a  house  of  detention,  extending  the 
finger-print  method  of  identification  to  all  convicted  women  and 
then  dealing  effectively  with  the  convicted  women  according  to 
the  plan  described,  a  long  step  forward  will  be  taken  in  solving 
the  problem  of  the  delinquent  women  in  our  courts. 

How  can  we  prevent  more  girls  from  becoming  wayward  and 
delinquent  ?  By  pursuing  constantly  a  policy  of  suppression  of 
the  social  evily  bringing  to  justice  the  white-slave  traffickers ,  im- 
proving conditions  at  home  and  at  worky  providing  proper  re- 
creational facilities  for  girls  and  giving  to  men  and  women 
higher  ideals  and  standards  of  morality. 

When  our  girls  see  many  women  soliciting  on  the  thorough- 
fares of  our  city  and  meet  others  who  are  frequenting  **  call 
houses  "  and  massage  parlors  and  cafes,  they  hear  that  it  is  "  easy" 
and  they  are  induced  to  enter  the  life.  Others  come  in  through 
the  influence  of  the  procurers  and  white-slave  traffickers,  who 
under  promise  of  marriage,  by** fake"  marriage  and  even  at 
times  by  force  and  violence  secure  young  girls  for  a  life  of  pros- 
titution. Many  of  the  girls  come  from  homes  where  there  has 
been  no  helpful  influence  and  no  moral  or  religious  teaching. 
Often  they  have  left  the  home  without  preparation  for  work  or 

(610) 


No. 4]      WAYWAJ^D  GIRLS  AND  DELINQUENT  WOMEN     137 

for  life.  The  pressure  has  been  very  great  and  temptations 
have  come  to  them  which  they  have  not  been  strong  enough  to 
resist.  With  the  grind  of  work  and  with  Httle  chance  for  re- 
creation and  play  except  in  dangerous  places,  they  have  often 
become  discouraged  or  disheartened  and  have  started  on  the 
pathway  which  leads  downward. 

To  improve  conditions  and  protect  our  young  girls  and  young 
boys  as  well,  we  can  demand  that  street  soliciting  shall  be  abol- 
ished and  the  laws  against  prostitution  enforced.  We  can  help 
to  bring  to  justice  the  men  who  profit  from  the  shame  of  women. 
We  can  do  much  to  improve  the  conditions  under  which  our 
girls  live  and  work,  can  provide  wholesome  recreation  for  them, 
can  give  them  sex  education  and  moral  training  as  well,  and  can 
inspire  them  to  nobler  and  better  things.  We  can  protect  those 
who  are  mentally  deficient  by  caring  for  them  in  custodial  insti- 
tutions long  before  the  time  when  they  are  in  danger  of  entering 
prostitution. 

The  New  York  Probation  Association  each  year  helps  many 
of  the  girls  who  have  erred  morally,  by  caring  for  them  at 
Waverley  House,  securing  positions  for  them  and  bringing  help- 
ful  influences  to  bear  so  that  it  is  possible  for  them  to  live 
honest,  useful  lives.  It  aids  in  bringing  white-slave  traffickers 
and  procurers  to  justice,  and  witnesses  in  these  cases  remain  at 
Waverley  House  while  cases  are  pending  in  the  courts.  The 
association  is  also  doing  protective  work  for  the  girls  who  are 
in  grave  moral  danger,  and  its  protective  officers  are  at  work  in 
different  districts  in  the  city.  This  year  protective  leagues  have 
been  organized  for  the  sake  of  securing  the  help  of  a  large 
number  of  girls  in  protecting  other  girls.  The  objects  of  these 
leagues  are  as  follows : 

1.  To  protect  other  girls  from  moral  danger. 

2.  To  help  in  suppressing  the  white  slave  traffic. 

3.  To  encourage  pure  thinking  and  clean  conversation. 

4.  To  promote  moral  education  and  knowledge  of  sex  hygiene. 

5.  To  secure  wholesome  recreation  for  girls. 

6.  To  stimulate  faith  in  the  possibilities  of  life. 

In  the  protective  work  we  have  had  the  cooperation  of  a 
number  of    churches  which  have    helped    in    maintaining   our 

(611) 


138 


ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK 


protective  officers  and  which  refer  to  us  from  time  to  time  girls 
who  are  in  moral  danger,  cooperating  with  us  in  the  cases  of 
individual  girls. 

There  is  much  that  all  of  us  can  do  to  help  in  solving  the 
problem  of  wayward  and  delinquent  girls.  In  helping  to  secure 
the  adoption  of  a  more  rational  policy  for  dealing  with  women 
offenders  in  the  courts  throughout  Greater  New  York ;  in  aiding 
individual  girls  and  women  in  connection  with  the  probation 
work  of  the  courts,  the  reformatories  and  volunteer  associa- 
tions such  as  the  New  York  Probation  Association ;  in  helping 
to  suppress  the  social  evil  and  demanding  that  existing  laws  be 
enforced ;  in  seeking  to  improve  conditions  at  home,  at  work, 
and  at  play  so  as  to  prevent  more  girls  from  becoming  way- 
ward ;  and  in  bringing  to  the  great  mass  of  men  and  women 
more  moral  and  religious  training  and  so  reaching  the  hearts  of 
men  that  they  will  more  truly  love  their  neighbors  as  themselves, 
truly  effective  work  can  be  done  in  the  solution  of  this  great 
problem. 

(612) 


THE  PREVENTION  OF  CRUELTY  TO  CHILDREN 
C.  C.  Carstens 

Secretary  and  General  Agent  of   the  Massachusetts  Society  for  the  Prevention   of 

Cruelty  to  Children 

THE  organized  movement  for  the  protection  of  children 
started  in  1874  by  the  organization  of  the  New  York 
Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Children.  This 
was  three  years  before  the  first  charity  organization  society  was 
organized  in  Buffalo  and  eight  years  after  the  organization  of 
the  first  society  for  the  prevention  of  cruelty  to  animals  in  New 
York  city. 

The  fact  that  the  organized  work  in  behalf  of  animals  had 
preceded  the  work  in  behalf  of  children  by  some  years  is  of 
importance  when  one  seeks  to  understand  the  development  of 
the  later  movement.  Prosecution  work  in  behalf  of  helpless 
animals  had  proved  its  usefulness  in  giving  expression  in  a 
tangible  way  to  the  desire  to  enforce  humane  standards  in  deal- 
ing with  dumb  animals  in  distress.  The  helplessness  of  children 
and  the  protection  they  needed  from  cruel  and  abusive  treat- 
ment led  to  an  analogous  movement  in  behalf  of  children.  Its 
value  and  effectiveness,  wherever  such  an  organization  has  been 
intelligently  and  vigorously  administered,  few  will  question. 
This  analogy,  while  pointing  the  way  toward  the  establishment 
of  an  effective  agency  for  children,  also  resulted  in  a  tendency 
to  emphasize  those  forms  of  protection  which  were  based  upon 
law  enforcement  and  gave  a  strong  trend  in  the  direction  of 
having  such  societies  become  from  the  first  adjuncts  to  the 
poHce  departments  where  offenses  against  children  were  con- 
cerned as  well  as  where  children  were  the  offenders. 

Since  the  prevention  of  cruelty  concerned  itself  principally 
with  the  enforcement  of  law  and  the  punishment  of  the  offender, 
at  first  only  the  grosser  and  more  patent  offenses  were  recog- 
nized. The  vigorous  work  of  these  societies  immediately  made 
its  impress  upon  the  community  and  established  humane  stand- 

(613) 


140  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK  [Vol.11 

ards  that  have  very  much  reduced  the  amount  of  cruelty  in  its 
various  forms  throughout  the  world. 

But  the  term  "cruelty"  like  the  term  "  charity"  in  our  more 
recent  philanthropic  development  has  taken  on  a  new  meaning, 
a  broadening  significance.  No  longer  interpreted  only  as  a 
malicious  act  inflicting  severe  pain,  it  is  now  more  often  inter- 
preted to  mean  such  conduct  on  the  part  of  parent  or  guardian 
as  threatens  the  life  or  health  of  a  child.  As  our  communities 
have  become  increasingly  sensitive  to  new  forms  of  protection, 
workers  in  the  prevention  of  cruelty  have  recognized  as  cruelty 
the  results  of  intemperance,  vice,  non-support,  abandonment, 
desertion  and  other  crimes  on  the  part  of  the  adults  in  their 
dealings  with  their  own  or  others'  children. 

While  it  is  fully  recognized  that  a  brutal  beating  requires  in- 
tervention on  the  child's  behalf  as  before,  association  with 
vicious  or  immoral  persons  not  only  corrupts  the  body  but  also 
sears  the  child's  soul.  It  is  equally  recognized  that  a  commu- 
nity's neglect  to  protect  the  safety  and  health  of  its  children  is  as 
serious  as  parents'  neglect  to  protect  their  own  children,  and 
€ven  more  difficult  to  guard  against.  The  wider  significance  of 
the  term  *'  cruelty  "  can  perhaps  be  illustrated  by  a  few  instances 
of  abuse. 

A  nine-year-old  Jewish  boy,  a  full  orphan,  came  with  his  aunt 
from  Russia,  the  latter  having  represented  him  to  be  her  son  so 
that  she  might  have  no  difficulty  to  get  him  admitted.  After  a 
year's  stay  with  this  family,  the  boy  was  driven  out  to  go  to 
another  relative  who  had,  however,  no  more  use  for  him.  He 
tried  to  make  his  own  living  by  selling  newspapers  but  without 
much  success.  He  slept  wherever  he  could  find  shelter  and 
stole  when  hunger  drove  him  to  it.  It  was  prevention  of  cruelty 
that  led  to  the  boy's  being  given  a  chance  to  get  wholesome 
training  in  a  good  home.  The  immigration  authorities  when 
apprised  of  the  deceit  issued  a  warrant  for  his  apprehension  so 
that  he  might  be  deported,  but  when  it  was  found  that  no  one 
of  his  own  flesh  and  blood  remained  in  Russia  except  a  crippled 
brother,  it  was  prevention  of  cruelty  when  guarantees  were  fur- 
nished that  he  should  not  become  a  public  dependent  if  he  were 
given  an  opportunity  to  grow  up  in  this  land. 

(614) 


No.  4]        PREVENTION  OF  CRUELTY  TO  CHILDREN  141 

A  wife  and  four  children  of  a  deserting  husband  had  reached 
the  point  where  hunger  stared  them  in  the  face,  with  the  alterna- 
tive of  dependence  on  charity,  from  whose  acceptance  they 
shrank  with  a  feeling  akin  to  desperation.  It  was  prevention  of 
cruelty  which  led  the  society,  after  much  trouble,  to  locate  the 
man,  secure  an  indictment,  bring  about  extradition  from  another 
state,  and  arrange  such  terms  of  his  parole  as  would  save  the 
family  from  dependence  upon  others  for  their  daily  bread  and 
would  give  opportunities  of  education  to  the  children. 

A  twelve-year-old  girl,  whose  mother  had  disposed  of  her  as 
a  baby  in  a  home  found  by  means  of  a  newspaper  advertisement, 
and  who  had  been  sent  back  to  this  mother  after  twelve  years, 
was  once  more  advertised  for  acceptance  in  a  new  home.  With- 
out inquiry  of  any  sort,  the  little  girl  was  given  her  bundle,  put 
on  the  train  at  a  station  in  New  Hampshire  and  sent  to  what  the 
child  beHeved  was  to  be  a  rich  and  beautiful  home  in  Boston. 
But  the  ''  home  "  was  a  den  of  the  worst  infamy,  and  before  the 
child  had  been  there  a  week  she  had  suffered  the  most  shameful 
abuses.  It  was  prevention  of  cruelty  when  the  wretch  to  whom 
she  was  sent  by  her  negligent  mother  was  apprehended  and  was 
sentenced  to  a  period  in  state  prison  and  the  child  given  into 
the  care  of  a  children's  aid  society  that  will  attempt  to  atone  for 
the  parental  negligence.  But  it  is  equally  a  prevention  of 
cruelty  to  insist  that  newspapers  should  refuse  to  make  possible 
through  advertising  in  their  columns  such  traffic  in  children. 

A  twelve-year-old  boy  of  intemperate  parents  was  before  the 
court  on  a  charge  of  larceny.  He  had  previously  been  before 
the  court  on  a  similar  charge.  When  inquiry  brought  out  the 
facts  that  he  was  a  truant  and  quite  backward  in  school,  it 
was  prevention  of  cruelty  which  brought  about  the  discovery 
through  a  specialist's  examination  that  he  was  feeble-minded 
and  later  his  commitment  to  an  institution  where  he  may  be 
protected  from  the  temptations  in  community  life  that  he  seems 
unable  to  resist. 

The  prevention  of  cruelty  to  children  in  its  larger  aspects 
therefore  concerns  itself  with  the  establishment  and  maintenance 
of  good  community  and  family  standards  quite  as  much  as  any 
other  social  agency  dealing  with  children  in  their  family  rela- 

(615) 


142  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK  [Vol.11 

tions.  It  requires  that  those  who  are  incapable  mentally  and 
morally  of  controlling  themselves  for  right  action  should  be 
given  an  opportunity  to  work  under  surveillance  in  farm  or 
other  custodial  colonies.  It  insists  on  the  prompt  reporting  of 
infants  suffering  from  ophthalmia  neonatorum  so  that  important 
steps  may  be  taken  to  save  them  from  blindness.  It  requires 
that  proper  surgical  and  medical  care  be  given  to  children  that 
are  in  danger  of  growing  up  crippled,  weak  and  dependent  when 
the  parents'  stubbornness  or  neglect  to  accept  the  physician's 
skill  are  all  that  stand  in  the  way  of  the  child's  regaining  full 
health. 

These  are  but  a  few  of  the  many  ways  in  which  the  word 
**  cruelty"  means  more  than  a  brutal  physical  punishment,  and 
those  working  in  the  prevention  of  cruelty  to  children  soon  find 
themselves,  if  the  task  is  conceived  broadly,  as  part  of  a  large 
number  of  individuals  and  agencies  working  for  social  better- 
ment, each  attacking  the  large  problem  from  his  own  angle. 

In  order  that  such  work  may  not  suffer  therefore  from  over- 
lapping of  energies,  or  from  incomplete  plans  and  partial  results, 
the  largest  cooperation  with  other  agencies  is  necessary.  The 
distinctive  task  of  societies  for  the  prevention  of  cruelty  to 
children  is  with  family  standards  as  they  affect  child  life,  but 
this  sphere  is  so  large  that  it  becomes  an  important  part  in  any 
large  movement  dealing  with  community  standards. 

The  emphasis  which  social  agencies  are  throwing  upon  pre- 
vention has  also  begun  to  be  felt  by  societies  for  the  prevention 
of  cruelty  to  children.  It  is  no  longer  thought  enough  to  rescue 
the  child  from  degrading  surroundings  and  place  it  in  a  new 
environment  where  it  may  be  happy,  become  well,  or  grow  up 
into  self-respecting  manhood  or  womanhood.  It  is  also  neces- 
sary to  study  the  abuses  that  exist  in  our  communities  and  that 
menace  child  life  as  problems  in  themselves ;  to  learn  the  steps 
in  the  process  of  degeneration ;  to  discover  the  causes,  and  to 
develop  an  orderly  procedure  for  working  out  remedies. 

The  prevention  of  cruelty  should  mean  more  than  a  preven- 
tion of  recurrence.  It  should  in  time  be  such  organized  pro- 
tection and  such  development  of  community  standards  that 
most  of  the  cruelty  and  neglect  is  stopped  at  the  source.     Much 

(6i6) 


No.  4]        PREVENTION  OF  CRUELTY  TO  CHILDREN  143 

of  this  preventive  work  must  be  done  with  groups  in  the  com- 
munity. While  our  native  population  neglects  its  children  prin- 
cipally because  of  crime,  cruelty,  drunkenness  or  other  vice,  the 
newer  immigrants,  while  suffering  also  from  the  effects  of  these 
conditions,  in  many  more  instances  neglect  their  children 
because,  through  ignorance,  they  have  failed  to  realize  what  the 
best  American  standards  are  and  what  opportunities  are  at  hand 
by  which  their  children  may  have  better  chances  in  this  new 
world.  Both  groups  need  the  help  which  better  adapted 
schools,  settlements  and  social  centres  will  provide,  and  a  society 
for  the  prevention  of  cruelty  to  children,  while  perhaps  not 
directly  conceiving  of  these  enterprises  as  part  of  its  task, 
should,  if  it  would  prevent  cruelty,  give  the  fullest  encourage- 
ment to  these  agencies  as  far  as  they  are  efficiently  managed. 

The  inter-relation  of  work  for  the  prevention  of  cruelty  to 
children  with  other  work  in  behalf  of  children  is  almost  self- 
evident.  When  local  or  state  boards  of  health  have  not  yet 
equipped  themselves  to  protect  infants  from  blindness,  it  is  pre- 
vention of  cruelty  to  help  enforce  laws  for  infants'  protection, 
or  when  these  do  not  exist,  to  work  for  the  necessary  statutes 
to  safeguard  the  infants'  sight.  And  so  in  a  similar  way,  such 
societies  should  work  hand  in  hand  with  child  labor  committees, 
with  societies  undertaking  to  reduce  infant  mortality,  depen- 
dence, pauperism,  venereal  infection  and  other  conditions  to 
whose  serious  import  in  the  lives  of  children  we  are  becoming 
increasingly  sensitive. 

The  experience  of  a  society  for  the  prevention  of  cruelty  to 
children  as  an  adjunct  in  law  enforcement,  its  prestige  with  the 
court  and  among  those  who  are  prone  to  neglect  their  children, 
gives  it  unusual  opportunities  for  interpreting  to  the  court  and 
the  police  departments  those  social  standards  in  child-helping 
and  protective  work  which  these  officials  in  the  natural  discharge 
of  their  exacting  duties  are  prone  to  underestimate  if  not 
entirely  to  lose  sight  of. 

But  the  proximity  of  these  societies  to  the  courts  and  to  the 
police  has  also  brought  with  it  grave  dangers  and  harmful  ten- 
dencies. Some  of  these  private  societies  have  become  mere 
extensions  of  the  police  department.     Where  this  is  the  case, 

(6ir) 


144  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.11 

either  the  protection  of  children  has  been  left  to  the  inadequate 
working  force  of  a  private  society,  thus  giving  the  community 
less  protection  than  if  every  officer  charged  with  the  enforce- 
ment of  the  law  were  required  to  know  and  to  enforce  the  com- 
munity's standards  in  behalf  of  children  and  could  call  upon  the 
private  society  to  assist  him  in  making  suitable  disposition  for 
them,  or  where  the  force  is  sufficient,  all  of  the  private  society's 
resources  are  apt  to  be  given  over  to  the  enforcement  of  law, 
and  the  larger  and  more  important  task  of  the  prevention  of 
neglect  and  the  remedy  of  conditions  that  are  remediable  is  im- 
possible. This  tendency  to  take  part  in  law  enforcement  has 
further  had  the  tendency  to  make  these  societies  become  the 
custodians  of  juvenile  offenders,  and  in  many  instances  their 
prosecutors  as  well. 

This  task  is  so  fundamental  for  the  state  itself  to  undertake 
that  its  assumption  by  a  private  society  is  constantly  in  danger 
of  weakening  the  state's  own  responsibility  for  the  protection  of 
the  juvenile  offender,  and  it  is  so  extensive  that  the  private 
society  finds  itself  unable  to  devote  adequate  resources  to  the 
prevention  of  physical  and  moral  conditions  in  family  life  in 
which  much  juvenile  delinquency  arises  and  out  of  which  a  large 
measure  of  adult  crime  develops. 

A  further  danger  arises  in  connection  with  societies  for  the 
prevention  of  cruelty  to  children  due  to  their  nearness  to  gov- 
ernmental agencies,  /.  e.,  their  lack  of  appreciation  of  their  being 
after  all  private  societies,  responsible  to  their  constituent  mem- 
bers and  subject  to  suitable  inspection  and  direction  by  the 
properly  constituted  governmental  agency  so  that  their  resources 
may  not  be  used  foolishly  and  their  work  may  not  be  a  detri- 
ment to  the  body  politic. 

After  all,  a  society  for  the  prevention  of  cruelty  to  children, 
being  a  private  society  dependent  on  the  generosity  of  the 
public,  is  but  an  organized  expression  of  the  community's  inter- 
est in  the  protection  of  children.  Because  of  its  experience 
with  legal  procedure  and  law  enforcement,  it  may  be  in  a 
peculiarly  helpful  position  toward  other  private  organizations 
and  church  bodies.  Visitors  in  family  homes  from  societies 
and  churches  inevitably  run  across  conditions  that  need  to  be 

(6i8) 


No.  4]        PREVENTION  OF  CRUELTY  TO  CHILDREN  145 

remedied,  and  the  strong  arm  of  the  law  must  often  be  invoked 
to  make  intervention  effective.  Societies  for  the  prevention  of 
cruelty  to  children  are  ready  to  inquire  into  all  instances  where 
alleged  neglect  exists,  and  to  work  in  cooperation  with  other 
agencies  for  the  protection  of  the  individual  group  of  children 
that  may  be  suffering,  and  what  is  even  more  important,  will 
contribute  of  their  experience  to  the  community's  knowledge 
as  to  how  conditions  may  be  remedied  and  how  standards  of 
family  life  may  be  permanently  improved. 

(619) 


THE  INSTITUTIONAL  CARE  OF  CHILDREN^ 

HASTINGS  H.  HART 
Russell  Sage  Foundation 

IN  listening  to  the  addresses  of  the  morning,  I  was  impressed 
with  their  bearing  upon  the  problem  of  institutional  chil- 
dren, who  number  at  the  present  time  not  less  than 
125,000  in  the  orphan  asylums,  children's  homes,  and  juvenile 
reformatories.  These  papers  have  suggested  some  of  the  forces 
that  bring  deHnquent  children  into  institutions.  Child  labor  is 
a  direct  cause,  as  has  been  indicated,  of  boys  becoming  delin- 
quents. Boys  who  are  overtaxed  and  deprived  of  proper  edu- 
cational opportunities,  whose  parents  look  at  the  commercial 
advantages  to  be  had  from  them,  are  quite  liable  to  turn  up  in 
the  juvenile  court.  The  lack  of  proper  regulation  of  amuse- 
ments is  undoubtedly  responsible  for  a  large  amount  of  juvenile 
delinquency.  Its  influence  is  exaggerated,  but  it  is  an  import- 
ant factor.  As  regards  the  commercializing  of  vice,  it  is  safe 
to  say  that  at  least  eighty  per  cent — and  I  think  ninety  per  cent 
— of  all  the  young  girls  sent  to  industrial  schools  and  institutions 
for  delinquents  have  had  an  immoral  experience.  Many  have 
been  inmates  of  houses  of  prostitution.  That  is  not  all.  The 
commercializing  of  vice  means  that  the  great  majority  of  those 
girls,  who  after  they  have  been  through  the  institution  start 
out  with  habits  of  right  living  and  desires  for  it,  immediately 
become  objects  of  pursuit  from  the  fact  that  they  have  been 
so  marked,  and  they  are  exploited  to  an  extraordinary  degree. 
In  connection  with  the  future  welfare  of  both  the  dependent 
and  the  delinquent  child  in  institutions,  the  subjects  that  have 
been  presented  to  us  are  vitally  important.  It  is  absolutely  in- 
dsipensable  to  the  normal  development  of  the  child  that  his 
recreation  shall  be  right.  I  have  visited  hundreds  of  institutions 
for  children,  and  I  have  made  special  studies  of  recreation,  and 

*  Discussion  at  the  meeting  of  the  Academy  of  Political  Science,  April  19,  1912. 

(620) 


THE  INSTITUTIONAL  CARE  OF  CHILDREN  147 

the  truth  is  that  there  is  Httle  careful  regulation  of  recreation  in 
such  institutions.  I  could  cite  institutions  in  New  York  and 
Philadelphia  where  two  or  three  hundred  boys  are  turned  loose 
in  a  little  playground  where  there  is  not  room  for  more  than 
thirty  or  forty ;  and  the  big,  active  fellows  get  the  playground 
and  playthings,  and  the  little  boys  stand  around  the  edges  and 
watch  wistfully.  These  children  do  not  have  any  spontaneity 
in  life,  and  yet  it  is  absolutely  essential  to  their  education. 

There  is  not  one  institution  for  children  in  twenty  that  follows 
the  plan  adopted  by  Mrs.  Falconer  in  the  girls'  school  in  Phila- 
delphia— that  of  having  directed  play.  She  has  a  college- 
trained,  well-bred  young  woman,  who  spends  a  large  part  of  her 
time  in  studying  how  to  use  the  leisure  time  of  these  girls  to  the 
best  advantage.  At  the  New  York  Orphanage,  conducted  by 
Dr.  Reeder,  the  whole  life  of  the  child  is  studied ;  and  people 
come  from  all  parts  of  the  world  to  see  that  place,  because 
there  are  not  half  a  dozen  institutions  of  this  class  among  all 
those  for  dependent  children. 

It  is  very  evident  that  the  last  word  has  not  been  said  on 
child  labor  in  its  relation  to  the  institutional  child.  Institutional 
children  must  have  wholesome  occupation,  and  they  should 
receive  some  kind  of  vocational  training.  But  vocational  train- 
ing in  the  institution  is  beset  with  difficulties.  In  the  first  place, 
as  to  boys,  the  most  of  those  in  our  juvenile  reformatories  are 
two  or  three  years  below  the  normal  in  their  intellectual,  and,  to 
a  certain  degree,  in  their  physical  development.  If  you  under- 
take to  keep  such  a  boy  long  enough  to  give  him  a  trade,  he 
must  remain  in  the  institution  three,  five  or  seven  years,  and 
that  means  that  he  becomes  institutionalized.  Further  than 
that,  the  process  is  exceedingly  expensive  if  it  is  done  right. 
You  cannot  give  all  institutional  boys  the  same  training.  There 
is  much  nonsense  talked  now  about  making  them  all  agricul- 
turists. The  moment  you  go  into  the  mechanical  trades, 
you  need  expensive  teachers  and  equipment  that  only  a  few 
institutions  can  afford. 

The  vocational  training  of  girls  is  simpler  in  a  way,  because 
the  range  of  occupations  that  ought  to  be  taught  is  not  so  large 
and  because  we  recognize  that  every  girl  must  learn  domestic 

(621) 


148  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.11 

science.  With  a  domestic  science  teacher,  a  teacher  of  dress- 
making who  is  also  a  sewing  teacher,  and  a  teacher  of  typewrit- 
ing and  bookkeeping,  a  considerable  number  of  girls  can  be 
accommodated.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  and  I  speak 
advisedly,  from  actual  knowledge,  three-quarters  of  all  the  so- 
called  vocational  training  for  girls  in  institutions  is  a  humbug 
and  a  fraud.  The  reports  of  these  institutions  state  that  *'  our 
girls  are  taught  domestic  science,  cooking,  house  work,  laundry 
work,  sewing,  dressmaking"  and  so  on.  The  effort  is  made  to 
give  that  instruction  along  with  the  daily  routine  of  the  institu- 
tion, but  in  nine-tenths  of  our  institutions  there  is  no  daily 
routine  that  teaches  the  girl  the  ordinary  work  of  life.  In  the 
institution  the  cooking  and  the  washing  are  done  by  steam. 
How  train  a  girl  there  to  do  ordinary  cooking  and  washing? 

Not  only  that,  but  in  three-quarters  of  the  orphan  asylums  of 
this  country  that  admit  girls  you  will  find  a  little  group  of  older 
girls.  One  of  these  institutions  states  the  reason  in  its  annual 
report :  ^'  We  cannot  send  these  older  girls  out  into  homes ;  it  is 
not  safe.  The  girls  need  the  domestic  training  they  will  receive 
in  the  institution  and  the  institution  needs  the  help  of  its  older 
daughters."  Those  girls  are  in  the  institution  to  help,  to  save 
hiring  servants ;  they  are  doing  free  domestic  service.  A  girl 
can  be  given  domestic  training  in  the  ordinary  routine  only  if 
the  institution  is  organized  with  cottages  that  accommodate  from 
twelve  to  twenty  at  the  outside,  if  the  living  is  like  the  living  in 
an  ordinary  family,  if  the  cooking  is  done  and  the  meals  are 
served  with  the  same  care  and  dignity  as  in  an  ordinary  family, 
if  the  dresses  for  the  girls  are  cut  and  made  with  the  same  neat- 
ness and  variety  as  in  an  ordinary  family.  I  remember  visiting 
an  institution  for  children  where  I  learned  that  the  girls  were 
being  taught  sewing.  I  went  to  see  the  girls'  domestic  work, 
and  there  was  a  beautiful  room,  with  sewing  machines  run  by 
electricity,  with  a  machine  to  cut  children's  garments,  fifteen  or 
twenty  garments  at  a  time,  a  machine  to  make  buttonholes, 
a  machine  to  sew  on  buttons,  a  machine  to  do  everything — and 
that  was  teaching  the  girls  sewing ! 

As  a  result  of  it  all,  a  wholesome  reaction  is  occurring.  We 
are  coming  to  recognize  that  the  institution  is  not  the  right 

(622) 


No.  4]       THE  INSTITUTIONAL  CARE  OF  CHILDREN  149 

place  to  give  the  child  domestic  training.  His  stay  in  the  insti- 
tution should  be  as  brief  as  possible,  and  he  should  be  quickly- 
transplanted  into  the  normal  life  of  the  community,  there  to  find 
his  opportunity  and  take  his  chance  with  the  rest  of  the  normal 
children.  That  means  the  development  of  the  placing-out 
system.  We  are  learning  to  select  our  homes  with  greater  care ; 
to  watch  the  child  in  order  to  see  that  he  gets  opportunity  and 
training,  and  that  he  is  not  exploited  to  take  the  place  of  the 
hired  servant. 

(623) 


THE  PREVENTION  OF  CRUELTY  TO  ANIMALS 

WILLIAM  O.  STILLMAN 
President  of  the  American  Humane  Association 

THE  first  law  for  the  prevention  of  cruelty  to  animals  was 
passed  by  the  British  Parliament  in  1822.  It  was 
known  as  Martin's  Act,  having  been  introduced  and 
passed  through  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Richard  Martin,  a  member  of 
the  House  of  Commons  from  Ireland.  This  law  applied 
particularly  to  domestic  animals,  and  was  incomplete  from  the 
modern  humane  point  of  view.  It  was,  nevertheless,  an  enor- 
mous advance  over  the  ideas  which  had  previously  ruled 
throughout  civilization  in  regard  to  recognition  of  the  rights  of 
animals  and  their  protection  from  cruelty.  It  may  properly  be 
called  the  Magna  Charta  of  the  animal  world. 

This  recognition  of  man's  duty  to  the  lower  orders  of  creation 
was  not  accepted  without  a  bitter  fight.  It  antagonized  the 
prevailing  notions  in  regard  to  man's  privilege  to  abuse  his 
domestic  animals,  and  it  introduced  a  new  idea  into  the  scheme 
of  civilization.  It  is  true  that  great  humanitarians  in  the  past, 
even  as  early  as  the  days  of  Plutarch,  made  strenuous  appeals 
for  kindly  treatment  for  all  harmless  beasts.  It  remained,  how- 
ever, for  an  Anglo-Saxon  legislative  body  to  put  into  concrete 
form  these  abstract  propositions  which  had  haunted  the  minds 
of  the  merciful  and  philanthropic  for  many  ages. 

In  1824  the  first  society  for  the  prevention  of  cruelty  to 
animals  was  organized  in  London.  This  organization  is  still  in 
existence  and  is  known  as  the  Royal  Society  for  the  Prevention 
of  Cruelty  to  Animals.  The  anti-cruelty  movement  was  first 
introduced  into  the  United  States  through  the  efforts  of  Henry 
Bergh,  who  organized  the  American  Society  for  the  Prevention 
of  Cruelty  to  Animals  in  New  York  city  in  1866.  Gradually 
the  movement  has  spread  all  over  the  world  and  active  societies 
for  the  protection  of  animals  are  to  be  found  in  almost  every 
civilized   land.     Efficient  societies  are  in  operation   in  India, 

(624) 


PREVENTION  OF  CRUELTY  TO  ANIMALS 


151 


Japan,  Finland,  Egypt,  South  Africa,  South  America,  and 
throughout  Europe  and  North  America.  In  the  United  States 
alone  there  are  427  societies  devoted  wholly  or  in  part  to  the 
prevention  of  cruelty  to  animals.  In  addition  to  these  there  are 
44  societies  devoted  exclusively  to  the  prevention  of  cruelty  to 
children.  Last  year  nearly  one  million  six  hundred  thousand 
dollars  were  received  for  the  support  of  anti-cruelty  societies  in 
this  country  and  over  twelve  hundred  paid  employes  were  con- 
nected with  the  work.  In  addition  there  were  over  six  thou- 
sand five  hundred  volunteer  agents  more  or  less  active.  Nearly 
a  million  and  a  half  animals  were  reported  as  affected  by  this 
work  in  the  United  States  during  191 1. 

The  humane  movement  when  first  started  undertook  only  to 
suppress  cruelty  to  animals.  Its  scheme  of  activity  was  not 
nearly  so  complex  then  as  now.  At  the  present  time  many  of 
the  larger  and  wealthier  societies  are  carrying  on  lines  of  work 
designed  to  afford  other  relief  for  animals  and  some  societies 
are  specializing,  as  for  instance  in  the  maintenance  of  animal 
shelters,  homes  of  rest  for  horses  and  work-horse  parades. 
Originally,  humane  literature  was  very  limited  in  amount  but 
now  humane  tracts  are  being  distributed  by  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands, if  not  millions.  The  list  of  books  inculcating  humane 
principles  has  also  become  a  long  one  and  the  titles  alone  fill 
pamphlets  containing  many  pages. 

Years  ago  practical  humanitarians  began  to  feel  that  if  their 
work  was  to  prove  permanently  successful,  children  should  be 
interested  in  it.  Accordingly,  ''  bands  of  mercy"  were  formed, 
first  in  England  and  later  in  the  United  States.  Millions  of 
children  have  now  become  members  of  these  bands.  They  are 
doing  an  active  work  in  behalf  of  humanity  by  reporting  cases 
to  societies  managed  by  adults,  which  investigate  the  complaints 
and  often  prosecute  offenders.  Books  of  recitations  and  plays 
have  been  prepared  for  these  children  and  they  serve  to  increase 
interest  and  enthusiasm.  Banners,  humane  badges  and  not  in- 
frequently special  rewards  are  offered  to  the  children,  with 
excellent  results. 

Both  in  England  and  in  the  United  States,  some  attention 
has  been  given  to  offering  a  series  of  rewards  for  humane  essays 

(6a5) 


152  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK  [Vol.  II 

prepared  by  school  children.  In  some  cities  in  the  United 
States  large  numbers  take  part  and  essays  are  presented  in  com- 
petition which  show  intelligent  interest  and  considerable  dis- 
crimination. The  prizes  are  adapted  to  the  different  grades  of 
school  children  so  that  all  may  be  attracted  to  compete.  In 
London  the  distribution  of  such  essay  prizes  to  school  children 
draws  many  thousands  of  them  to  the  yearly  gathering,  which 
is  usually  honored  by  the  presence  of  members  of  the  royal 
family. 

In  the  United  States  much  attention  has  been  given  by  socie- 
ties for  the  prevention  of  cruelty  to  animals  to  the  introduction 
of  humane  education  in  the  public  schools.  Already  fifteen 
states  have  compulsory  humane  education  laws,  and  I  believe 
that  Massachusetts  should  also  be  added  to  this  list  on  account 
of  laws  passed  some  time  ago  encouraging  humane  instruction 
in  educational  institutions.  Chicago  has  now  been  operating 
under  a  humane  education  law  for  about  two  years,  and  Mrs. 
Ella  Flagg  Young,  superintendent  of  schools  in  Chicago,  wrote 
to  me  recently  that 

when  the  moral  and  humane  education  law  was  adopted  by  the  legisla- 
ture of  the  state  of  Illinois,  it  was  at  first  thought  by  the  school  people 
that  the  plan  of  teaching  humaneness  as  a  definite  subject  of  instruction 
in  the  schools  was  a  mistake.  In  the  intervening  two  years,  however, 
there  has  been  a  change  of  opinion,  and  I  think  that  now  most  of  the 
school  people,  at  least  in  Chicago,  recognize  the  advantage  of  the 
definite  presentation  of  this  subject  as  a  part  of  the  course  of  study. 

The  Chicago  board  of  education,  on  account  of  this  state  law, 
on  March  23,  19 10,  adopted  a  scheme  for  humane  education 
and  moral  training  in  the  schools  and  presented  an  outline  for 
such  training  accompanied  by  a  list  of  books  and  periodicals 
that  furnished  material  adapted  to  aid  in  such  instruction. 
Humanitarians  feel  that  to  instruct  a  child  in  the  principles  of 
justice  and  kindness  to  the  helpless  or  the  weak  does  much  to 
broaden  the  child's  character  and  to  increase  its  sympathy  for 
that  which  is  noble  and  good,  and  cannot  fail  to  produce  a  better 
citizen  for  the  future.  It  is  a  fixed  principle  of  the  policy  of 
the  anti-cruelty  societies  gradually  to  extend  this  system  of 

(626) 


No.  4]         PREVENTION  OF  CRUELTY  TO  ANIMALS  153 

education  into  the  public  schools  of  every  state,  and  plans  have 
been  definitely  formulated  for  systematically  carrying  this  work 
forward.  We  believe  it  a  means  for  the  promotion  of  good 
citizenship  not  to  be  ignored  by  persons  who  feel  that  the  heart 
should  be  educated  as  well  as  the  mind,  and  that  the  funda- 
mental object  of  all  education  is  the  proper  development  of 
character. 

The  laws  which  have  been  enacted  for  the  protection  of 
animals  cover  a  large  variety  of  offenses  and  are  more  or  less 
known  to  the  general  public.  There  are  laws  which  provide 
that  proper  food  and  drink  must  be  supplied  to  them ;  that  dis- 
abled animals  must  not  be  abandoned  or  any  animals  carried  in 
a  cruel  manner,  whether  in  private  vehicles  or  by  common 
carriers ;  that  substances  injurious  to  animals  shall  not  be  thrown 
in  public  places ;  that  cows  shall  not  be  kept  in  unhealthy  places 
or  fed  improper  food ;  that  animal  fights  for  sport  shall  be  for- 
bidden ;  and  there  are  a  number  of  special  provisions  designed 
to  protect  beasts  from  heedless  or  intentional  cruelty. 

The  general  policy  of  anti-cruelty  legislation,  however,  has 
been  not  to  legislate  specially  for  every  conceivable  offense,  but 
rather  to  provide  general  statutes  designed  to  apply  to  most 
cases  of  abuse.  As  New  York  state  was  the  first  one  to  pass  a 
special  law  for  the  protection  of  animals,  its  blanket  statute  has 
been  largely  copied  in  other  states.  Section  185  of  the  penal 
law  of  New  York  state  is  designed  to  cover  all  ordinary  forms 
of  cruelty  and  will  serve  as  an  example  of  the  legal  protection 
given  to  animals  by  a  blanket  statute.  It  reads  in  part  as 
follows : 

A  person  who  overdrives,  overloads,  tortures  or  cruelly  beats  or  un- 
justifiably injures,  maims,  mutilates  or  kills  any  animal,  whether  wild  or 
tame,  and  whether  belonging  to  himself  or  to  another,  or  deprives  any 
animal  of  necessary  sustenance,  food  or  drink,  or  neglects  or  refuses 
to  furnish  it  such  sustenance  or  drink,  or  causes,  procures  or  permits, 
any  animal  to  be  overdriven,  overloaded,  tortured,  cruelly  beaten,  or 
unjustifiably  injured,  maimed,  mutilated  or  killed,  or  to  be  deprived  of 
necessary  food  or  drink,  or  who  wilfully  sets  on  foot,  instigates,  en- 
gages in,  or  in  any  way  furthers  any  act  of  cruelty  to  any  animal,  or 
any  act  tending  to  produce  such  cruelty,  is  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor. 

(627)    ' 


154  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK  [Vol.  II 

This  law  has  been  amply  sustained  in  the  courts  and  is  an  effi- 
cient instrument  for  the  protection  of  animals  from  most  forms 
of  abuse. 

The  New  York  state  laws  assist  the  enforcement  of  the 
section  of  the  penal  law  just  quoted,  by  providing  two  defi- 
nitions which  greatly  increase  the  effectiveness  of  the  law. 
Thus  Section  i8o  declares  that  "the  word  'animal,'  as  used 
in  this  article,  does  not  include  the  human  race,  but  includes 
every  other  living  creature."  This  same  section  also  provides 
that  "the  word  'torture'  or  'cruelty'  includes  every  act,  omis- 
sion, or  neglect,  whereby  unjustifiable  physical  pain,  suffering 
or  death  is  caused  or  permitted."  There  are  special  laws  for 
the  protection  of  animals  in  railway  transportation ;  also  others 
relating  to  agricultural  conditions  and  the  licensing  of  dogs, 
while  the  game  laws  and  other  laws  affecting  wild  animals  are 
discriminating  and  in  the  main  reasonable  and  effective. 

There  are  two  aspects  of  the  anti-cruelty  question  which  have 
received  special  consideration  on  the  part  of  those  who  are 
deeply  interested  in  its  sociological  value.  The  commercial  or 
economic  side  of  animal  protection  has  been  studied  attentively 
and  it  has  been  calculated  that  the  proper  humane  treatment  of 
animals  in  the  United  States  would  result  in  savings  amounting 
to  hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars  per  annum.  It  is  not  possible 
to  develop  this  aspect  of  the  question  in  detail  in  a  paper  of 
limited  length.  The  other  general  aspect  of  anti-cruelty  work, 
to  which  I  have  just  referred,  deals  with  the  reflex  action  on 
national  character  of  the  humanitarian  movement.  It  was  long 
ago  felt  that  a  greater  moral  harm  was  done  to  man  himself, 
when  guilty  of  cruelty  to  a  beast,  than  was  represented  by  the 
actual  suffering  of  the  creature.  It  was  argued  that  man  was 
degraded  and  debased  by  acts  of  cruelty  and  that  the  exercise 
of  cruelty  could  not  fail  to  have  a  powerful  influence  in  a  retro- 
grade way  on  his  social  development. 

Nero,  the  Roman  Emperor,  as  a  child,  is  said  to  have  been 
diabolically  cruel  to  animal  life  with  which  he  came  in  contact. 
As  the  head  of  a  great  empire  he  only  amplified  and  extended 
the  cruelty  which  he  had  manifested  as  a  youth.  In  a  lesser 
but  analogous  way,  we  believe  that  this  law  of  development 

(628) 


No.  4]         PREVENTION  OF  CRUELTY  TO  ANIMALS  \  5  5 

applies  to  those  countries  where  the  humane  treatment  of 
animals  is  discouraged,  for  humanitarians  feel  that  humane  edu- 
cation and  the  enforcement  of  laws  for  the  better  protection  of 
helpless  beasts  has  an  important  bearing  on  national  character 
and  national  instincts. 

The  anti-cruelty  societies  are  desirous  of  having  public  co- 
operation on  the  part  of  individuals  and  churches  as  far  as 
possible,  in  carrying  out  the  beneficent  work  in  which  they  are 
engaged.  Societies  are  desirous  of  establishing  animal  hos- 
pitals and  free  dispensaries  in  every  large  city,  where  intelligent 
and  scientific  care  may  be  given  to  suffering  animals,  particu- 
larly those  owned  by  the  poor.  Many  a  man  of  very  limited 
means,  who  is  dependent  upon  his  horse  for  the  support  of 
himself  and  his  family,  does  not  feel  that  he  can  afford  to  pay 
the  fee  of  a  veterinarian  for  every  slight  ailment  from  which 
the  animal  may  suffer.  There  is  a  large  field  for  philanthropic 
work  in  the  establishment  and  support,  not  alone  of  free  dis- 
pensaries and  animal  hospitals,  which  are  now  beginning  to 
spring  up  in  the  large  cities,  but  also  for  the  starting  of  courses 
of  veterinary  lectures  so  that  all  of  those  interested  in  horses, 
dogs,  and  others  animals  may  obtain  information  how  to  care 
for  them  properly. 

In  New  York,  Chicago,  and  Boston,  excellent  courses  of  free 
lectures  on  the  proper  care  of  animals  have  been  given  for 
several  years.  These  courses  of  instruction  are  attended  to  a 
considerable  extent  by  the  police,  by  drivers  and  horse  owners, 
and  by  officers  of  the  anti-cruelty  societies.  They  have  a  large 
field  of  usefulness,  as  they  aid  those  coming  in  contact  with 
animals  to  treat  them  humanely  and  intelligently  in  health  as 
well  as  in  illness  or  disability. 

Drinking  fountains,  from  which  animals  may  slake  their 
thirst,  especially  during  the  heated  term,  are  very  desirable  in 
all  cities,  and  furnish  an  opportunity  everywhere  for  those 
philanthropically  inclined.  Many  humane  societies  lack  veteri- 
nary ambulances,  whereby  injured  or  sick  animals  may  be  trans- 
ported. Proper  appliances  for  raising  horses  which  have  fallen 
into  excavations  are  usually  needed  in  connection  with  these 
ambulances.     Many  humane  societies  have  such  conveniences, 

(629) 


1 56  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK  [Vol.  II 

but  the  majority  have  not.  An  active  movement  is  under  way 
in  some  sections  of  the  country  to  promote  "  horse  vacations." 
This  is  based  upon  the  belief  that  a  short  rest  during  the  sum- 
mer will  increase  the  value  of  a  horse's  services  during  the  rest 
of  the  year  and  prolong  its  life.  It  is  based  upon  the  supposi- 
tion that  what  is  good  for  a  man  is  good  also  for  a  beast,  as 
both  have  bodies  which  are  substantially  alike  in  their  general 
anatomical  construction  and  physiological  functions.  This  idea 
will  probably  become  more  popular  in  the  future. 

Quite  a  number  of  societies  have  "  homes  of  rest"  for  horses, 
where  poor  men  may  have  their  animals  cared  for,  either 
gratuitously  or  at  a  nominal  cost.  We  should  advise  persons 
interested  in  anti-cruelty  work  to  offer  farms,  either  by  gift  or 
loan,  to  humane  societies  so  that  they  may  be  used  for  this 
purpose.  Some  enterprising  anti-cruelty  societies  have  under- 
taken to  loan  without  charge  horses  which  may  be  used  by  poor 
men  who  are  dependent  on  their  own  animals  for  their  living  as 
an  inducement  for  them  to  send  their  horses  for  a  rest  during 
the  summer. 

One  of  the  greatest  needs  of  anti-cruelty  societies  for  animals 
throughout  the  United  States  is  an  adequate  endowment. 
Societies  which  depend  wholly  on  annual  subscriptions  for  their 
support  are  always  more  or  less  in  debt  if  their  work  is  a  large 
and  active  one.  The  largest  and  most  efficient  societies  in  this 
country  are  dependent  for  the  major  part  of  their  income  upon 
the  interest  from  endowments.  I  know  of  no  way  in  which  the 
humanely  inclined  can  do  a  greater  service  than  by  making 
testamentary  provision  toward  the  support  of  local  anti- cruelty 
societies,  so  that  they  may  not  be  hampered  in  their  beneficent 
work.  Many  anti-cruelty  societies  in  the  past  have  died  from 
financial  starvation.  The  majority  of  them  are  so  situated  that 
a  few  earnest,  hard-working  philanthropists  who  are  looking 
after  the  protection  of  the  animals  have  to  spend  at  least  half 
of  their  humane  working  time  in  securing  funds  with  which  to 
finance  their  societies.  Humanity  is  a  general  social  duty.  It 
is  not  the  prerogative  of  the  few.  If  persons  humanely  inclined 
are  performing  a  duty  which  should  be  undertaken  by  the  many, 
it  is  only  fair  that  they  should  be  more  generously  financed  by 

(630) 


No.  4]         PREVENTION  OF  CRUEL  TV  TO  ANIMALS  i  5  7 

those  who  are  able  to  extend  help  but  whose  work  in  this 
direction  is  being  performed  by  others. 

The  anti-cruelty  cause  has  suffered  much  in  the  past  from  a 
lack  of  trained  workers.  Earnest  and  enthusiastic  partizans  of 
the  cause  have  often  volunteered  their  services,  and  while  mean- 
ing well  have  not  infrequently  antagonized  both  the  public  and 
the  magistrates  by  their  well-intended  but  impracticable 
demands.  Many  times  men  have  been  employed  to  enforce 
human'e  laws  for  animals  who  had  become  superannuated  as 
policemen  or  deputy  sheriffs,  and  who  were  destitute  of  any 
real  interest  or  personal  fitness  for  the  work.  Others  employed 
have  been  those  who  have  failed  elsewhere  and  whose  employ- 
ment partakes  very  largely  of  the  nature  of  a  charity.  Human- 
itarians are  beginning  to  realize  the  error  of  such  a  policy  as 
this  and  to  feel  that  it  is  time  that  a  special  school  should  be 
started  which  shall  fit  the  workers  of  anti-cruelty  societies  for 
their  labors. 

Society  has  trained  workers  for  nearly  every  other  philan- 
thropic or  business  activity,  as  for  instance,  for  social  service, 
for  nursing  the  sick,  for  every  variety  of  technical  employment, 
for  bookkeeping  and  stenography,  and  so  on  through  a  long 
list.  The  humane  worker  is  obliged  to  have  a  knowledge  which 
is  quite  as  technical  and  difficult  as  almost  any  of  these.  It  is 
felt  that  a  school  is  the  only  effective  means  of  attracting  young 
men  and  women  of  ability  to  enter  this  field  of  philanthropic 
endeavor  and  to  perform  efficient  service. 

A  paid  agent  of  a  society  for  the  prevention  of  cruelty  to 
animals  should  be  familiar  with  the  office  management  necessary 
for  the  successful  carrying-on  of  an  active  society.  He  should 
be  familiar  with  the  needed  office  books  and  with  the  blanks 
required  to  receive  complaints.  He  should  know  the  proper 
methods  of  filing  and  should  be  drilled  and  disciplined  in  the 
carrying  on  of  the  more  or  less  voluminous  correspondence 
which  is  necessarily  required.  He  should  also  be  familiar  with 
statistical  methods,  in  order  to  present  the  results  of  the 
society's  operations  to  its  patrons.  The  humane  worker  should 
be  taught  how  to  keep  up  membership  lists ;  how  to  incorporate 
anti-cruelty  societies  and  legally  conduct  the  same ;  how  to  keep 

(631) 


158  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK 

the  minutes  and  records  of  the  society  and  to  prepare  and  pub- 
lish annual  reports. 

In  addition  to  all  these  things  he  must  have  the  methods  for 
field  work  well  in  hand.  He  must  be  more  or  less  of  a  veteri- 
narian and  must  understand  the  anatomy  and  physiology  of  the 
horse  and  other  animals.  He  must  be  fitted  to  tell  others  how 
to  relieve  suffering  animals,  and  be  able  to  determine  with  a 
reasonable  degree  of  exactness  whether  the  animal  is  actually 
suffering  or  not,  and  whether  the  case  is  one  which  should  be 
taken  into  court.  Humane  workers  need  to  be  wise  in  regard 
to  the  law,  for  they  must  plead  their  own  cases  in  most  in- 
stances; they  must  know  how  to  draw  legal  papers  and  be 
familiar  with  legal  procedure  and  the  intricacies  of  the  law ; 
they  must  know  what  evidence  is  necessary  in  order  to  secure 
a  conviction.  It  is  desirable  that  an  agent  of  a  society  for  the 
prevention  of  cruelty  to  animals  should  understand  how  to  take 
photographs  well;  how  to  adjust  ill-fitting  harnesses;  how  to 
distinguish  between  a  dog  which  is  merely  suffering  from  a  fit 
or  lack  of  water  and  one  which  is  really  vicious  and  dangerous. 
There  are  many  other  qualifications  which  are  required  and 
which  can  be  secured  only  by  special  training. 

Over  and  above  all  the  humane  agent  must  possess  the  milk 
of  human  kindness.  He  must  be  taught  that  the  majority  of 
offenders  are  cruel  more  because  of  ignorance  than  because  of 
design,  and  that  advice  and  friendly  suggestion  are  what  is 
needed  in  the  vast  majority  of  cases.  Humane  officers  need  to 
have  enlightened  good  sense.  They  should  be  familiar  with 
the  latest  and  best  methods  of  carrying  on  the  work.  It  should 
be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that  all  this  theoretical  knowledge 
is  comparatively  valueless  unless  supplemented  by  actual  field 
work  in  connection  with  an  active  anti-cruelty  society.  It  is 
desirable  to  have  the  theoretical  foundation  and  the  academic 
instruction  for  an  officer,  but  in  order  to  be  properly  fitted  for 
his  work  he  must  go  out  on  the  street  and  into  the  police  court, 
and  learn  actual  methods  by  experience  under  the  instruction 
of  veteran  workers.  A  school  will  be  established  in  the  near 
future  through  the  efforts  of  the  American  Humane  Association 
and  we  invite  financial  support  for  the  development  of  this 
necessary  work. 

(632) 


PRISON  LABOR 


E.    STAGG   WHITIN 


General  Secretary,  National  Committee  on  Prison  Labor 

CHRISTIANITY  has  brought  no  greater  change  into  the 
world  than  the  overthrow  of  slavery.  The  greatest  war 
of  modern  times  had  human  slavery  as  its  inciting  cause, 
yet  behind  the  dark  bastilles  we  call  our  prisons,  penitentiaries, 
reformatories,  workhouses  and  refuges  there  still  hides  the 
enemy  of  our  social  progress,  the  economically  vicious  slave 
system.  The  abolition  of  the  evils  inherent  in  this  system, 
comprising  as  they  do  the  exploitation  of  the  helpless,  the 
perversion  of  state  functions,  the  gnawing  of  graft  and  the  cor- 
rupting of  politics,  appears  no  limited  task,  even  to  the  most 
light-hearted  of  reformers ;  to  undertake  to  work  out  the  recon- 
struction, the  peaceful  reformation  of  this  system  throughout 
the  length  and  breadth  of  this  land  is  at  least  to  grapple  with 
fundamental  issues. 

Its  dealings  with  the  criminal  mark,  one  may  say,  the  zero  point  in 
the  scale  of  treatment  which  society  conceives  to  be  the  due  of  its 
various  members.  If  we  raise  this  point  we  raise  the  standard  all  along 
the  scale.  The  pauper  may  justly  expect  something  better  than  the 
criminal,  the  self-supporting  poor  man  or  woman  than  the  pauper. 
Thus  if  it  is  the  aim  of  good  civilization  to  raise  the  general  standard 
of  life,  this  is  a  tendency  which  a  savage  criminal  law  will  hinder  and 
a  humane  one  assist. 

Thus  speaks  Hobhouse.  The  level  of  the  convict  to-day  is, 
economically  considered,  slavery.  He  is  the  property  of  the 
state  and  during  his  incarceration  the  economic  value  which  is 
in  him  may  be  disposed  of  by  the  state  to  those  who  desire  to 
lease  it,  or  he  may  be  worked  by  the  state  as  it  sees  fit. 

The  leased  convict  is  always  exploited.  The  state-worked 
convict  may  be  made  to  work  either  to  pay  for  his  keep,  to 
sustain   his  dependents,  to  reform  his  ways  or  to  bring  revenue 

(633) 


l6o  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK  [Vol.  II 

into  the  state  treasury.  Work  he  must  and  by  the  sweat  of  his 
brow  he  must  learn  that  society  has  rights  to  be  protected  and 
he  duties  to  perform.  The  conditions  under  which  this  training 
is  given  need  not  debase  the  state,  his  disciplinary  authority,  in 
the  performance  of  its  function.  While  we  raise  the  level  of 
the  convict  and  force  up  the  level  of  industrial  society  we  must 
force  up  likewise  the  moral  standard  of  the  master  who  has 
charge  of  the  discipline.  Negro  slavery  was  more  demoralizing 
to  the  free  man  than  to  the  slave ;  convict  slavery  to-day  demora- 
lizes the  community  and  the  free  individual  in  just  the  same 
way.  It  is  an  old  saying  worthy  to  be  believed  of  all  men  that 
a  state  cannot  exist  half  slave  and  half  free. 

The  abolition  of  slavery  in  our  prisons  does  not  mean  a  jail 
delivery,  nor  does  it  mean  even  an  indiscriminate  pardoning  by 
over-enthusiastic  governors  of  large  numbers  of  depraved  and 
diseased  men  who  are  now  incarcerated.  From  a  slave  the 
convict  must  become  a  ward  and  as  a  ward  he  must  be  disci- 
plined, corrected,  developed,  trained  through  daily  chores, 
through  honest  work,  with  ever  the  hope  of  the  brighter  future 
before  him  when  he  can  again  assume  the  position  of  citizen 
and  praise  and  bless  the  state  that  has  trained  him.  Simple 
was  the  process  of  the  abolition  of  slavery  as  pointed  out  by 
Lincoln  when  he  said : 

Free  labor  has  the  inspiration  of  hope  ;  pure  slavery  has  no  hope  ;  the 
power  of  hope  upon  human  exertion  and  happiness  is  wonderful ;  the 
slave  master  himself  has  a  conception  of  it,  hence  the  system  of  tasks 
amongst  slaves  ;  the  slave  whom  you  cannot  drive  with  the  lash  to  break 
seventy- five  pounds  of  hemp  in  a  day,  if  you  task  him  to  break  a 
hundred  and  promise  him  wage  for  all  over,  will  break  you  one  hundred 
and  fifty.  You  have  substituted  hope  for  the  rod,  and  yet  perhaps  it 
does  not  occur  to  you  that,  to  the  extent  of  your  gain  in  the  case,  you 
have  given  up  the  slave  system  and  adopted  the  free  system  of  labor. 

The  movement  which  this  thought  represents  is  sweeping 
over  the  country,  finding  its  expression  in  many  states.  It  is 
championed  by  Wilson  in  New  Jersey,  Harmon  in  Ohio,  Mann 
in  Virginia,  Hadley  in  Missouri,  Johnson  in  California.  The 
legislatures  are  responding,  commissions  are  investigating,  gov- 

(634) 


No.  4]  PRISON  LABOR  l6i 

ernors  are  conferring.  As  an  outcome  of  the  discussion  at  the 
governors'  conference  at  Spring  Lake  the  southern  governors 
met  in  May  in  special  conference  upon  it  and  the  gover- 
nors in  the  West  are  soon  to  follow  this  example.  But  what  is 
the  actual  status  ?  Whither  are  they  leading  ?  To  point  the 
movement  in  a  few  brief  phrases  must  suffice  here.  Economi- 
cally two  systems  of  convict  production  and  two  systems  of  dis- 
tribution of  convict-made  goods  exist:  production  is  either  by 
the  state  or  under  individual  enterprise;  distribution  either  is 
limited  to  the  preferred  state-use  market  or  is  made  through 
the  general  market.  In  the  light  of  such  classification  the  con- 
vict-labor legislation  of  recent  years  shows  definite  tendencies 
toward  the  state's  assumption  of  its  responsibility  for  its  own 
use  of  the  prisoners  on  state  lands,  in  state  mines  and  as  opera- 
tives in  state  factories ;  while  in  distribution  the  competition  of 
the  open  market,  with  its  disastrous  effect  upon  prices,  tends  to 
give  place  to  the  use  of  labor  and  commodities  by  the  state  it- 
self in  its  manifold  activities.  Improvements  like  these  in  the 
production  and  distribution  of  the  products  mitigate  evils  but 
in  no  vital  way  affect  the  economic  injustice  always  inherent  in 
a  slave  system.  The  payment  of  wage  to  the  convict  as  a  right 
growing  out  of  his  production  of  valuable  commodities  is  the 
phase  of  this  legislation  which  tends  to  destroy  the  state  of 
slavery.  Such  legislation  has  made  its  appearance,  together  with 
the  first  suggestion  of  right  of  choice  allowed  to  the  convict  in 
regard  to  his  occupation.  These  statutes  still  waver  in  an 
uncertain  manner  between  the  conception  of  the  wage  as  a 
privilege,  common  to  England  and  Germany,  and  the  wage  as 
a  right  as  it  exists  in  France.  The  development  of  the  idea  of 
the  right  of  wage,  fused  as  it  is  with  the  movement  toward  gov- 
ernmental work  and  workshops,  cannot  fail  to  stand  out  sig- 
nificantly when  viewed  from  the  standpoint  of  the  labor 
movement. 

In  a  word,  the  economic  progress  in  prison  labor  shown  in 
recent  legislation  is  toward  more  efficient  production  by  the 
elimination  of  the  profits  of  the  lessee ;  more  economical  distri- 
bution of  the  products  by  the  substitution  of  a  preferred  market, 
where  the  profits  of  the  middleman  are  eliminated,  in  place  of 

(635) 


1 62  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK  [Vol.11 

the  unfair  competition  with  the  products  of  free  labor  in  the 
open  market ;  and  finally  the  curtailment  of  the  slave  system 
by  the  provision  for  wages  and  choice  of  occupation  for  the 
man  in  penal  servitude. 

In  administration  the  adaptation  of  these  new  principles  pre- 
sents many  difficulties  and  points  the  need  of  much  careful 
study  and  detailed  application  suited  to  the  special  locality. 
Dr.  Hart's  illustration  from  the  Columbus  reformatory  finds  its 
counterpart  in  the  horrors  that  have  been  perpetrated  at  the 
Columbus  penitentiary.  The  pen  portraits  of  Brand  Whitlock 
in  his  Turn  of  the  Balance  exaggerate  nothing  in  their  depiction 
of  the  horrors  of  the  convicts  in  the  shops,  suffering  from  in- 
dustrial diseases  as  horrible  as  the  poisoning  of  which  Dr. 
Seager  has  spoken,  but  forced  to  work  under  the  brutal  con- 
tractor till  fatigue  and  anguish  break  them  down — then  the 
paddle  and  the  water-cure  change  them  from  men  into  brutes. 
I  should  hesitate  so  to  testify  if  the  facts  were  not  a  matter  of 
court  record  in  a  case  now  pending  in  that  great  city  of  Ohio 
whence  came  most  of  our  inspiration  at  this  morning's  meeting. 
This  is  but  a  type,  however.  The  convicts  in  Alabama  who 
tried  to  become  my  slaves  to  avoid  the  mine-camp  can  be  found 
if  you  care  to  seek  them ;  all  along  the  line  the  war  goes  on 
between  brutality  and  enlightened  state  control.  What  Dr. 
Hart  told  of  in  Ohio  is  as  true  in  many  other  places.  You 
have  read  of  the  abominable  conditions  in  Maryland,  the  con- 
tracts in  Connecticut  which  sell  the  right  to  grasping  con- 
tractors to  punish  the  convicts  at  their  pleasure — but  this  phase 
must  soon  belong  to  the  past. 

The  National  Committee  on  Prison  Labor  for  two  years  has 
been  investigating  the  conditions,  advising  with  state  officials, 
drafting  legislation,  organizing  reform.  Armed  with  a  con- 
structive program  resulting  from  its  studies  and  experiments  it 
will  bring  to  the  legislatures  which  are  to  be  elected  this  year 
the  encouragement  which  comes  from  well-conceived  plans 
based  upon  actual  conditions,  and  to  the  administrators  whom 
the  new  governors  shall  appoint  a  synthesis  of  the  available 
material  upon  which  to  work.  It  is  not  for  support  from  these 
men  that  we  need  ask ;  they  will  be  glad  and  ready  to  respond — 

(636) 


No.  4] 


PRISON  LABOR 


163 


it  is  from  the  public  which  this  association  represents,  the  public 
of  the  good  citizen,  the  church-goer,  the  preacher,  the  tax-payer 
and  the  educator.  Reform  is  impossible  of  permanence  until 
these  are  fully  alive  to  the  problem  and  take  personal  interest 
in  aiding  each  community  to  make  that  adjustment  upon 
which  permanent  reform  must  rest. 

What  are  the  conditions  in  your  community  ?  What  are 
you  doing  to  improve  them  ?  Do  you  realize  that  as  a  citizen 
of  a  state  that  continues  the  slavery  of  its  convicts  you  join  in 
the  responsibility  for  its  existence  ? 

(637) 


THE  EXTENSION  OF  ORGANIZED  CHARITY  IN  THE 
UNITED  STATES 

FRANCIS    H.    MCLEAN 

General  Secretary,  National  Association  of  Societies  for  Organizing  Charity 

IT  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  movement  which  preceded 
all  the  other  social  movements  of  the  present  day  in  the 
United  States  was  among  the  last  to  be  nationally  organ- 
ized. When  the  charity  organization  idea'  was  transplanted 
from  England  to  the  United  States  in  the  later  seventies,  the 
whole  problem  of  family  rehabilitation  and  of  the  attendant 
social  campaigns  which  would  have  to  grow  out  of  the  daily 
work  of  an  organization  attempting  to  rehabilitate,  was  consid- 
ered to  be  a  strictly  local  or  community  problem.  During  the 
whole  of  the  eighties  the  rudimentary  ideas  connected  with  the 
charity  organization  concept  were  more  or  less  sprinkled  out 
over  all  portions  of  the  country.  A  number  of  the  societies 
took  deep  root  and  grew  up  more  or  less  sturdily,  struggling 
along  to  a  better  and  wider  standard  of  work.  In  most  cities, 
particularly  the  smaller  ones,  the  roots  were  close  to  the  surface 
and  spread  out  laterally  riather  than  horizontally;  that  is,  the 
negative  ideas  of  mere  systematization  of  relief,  the  checking 
of  duplication  and  fraud  and  similar  ideas  constituted  the  whole 
content  of  the  program  of  these  societies.  This  was  to  some 
extent  true  of  the  early  nineties,  but  approximately  from  1895 
to  1905  there  was  an  increasing  call  made  upon  the  recognized 
associated  charities  or  charity  organization  societies  from  com- 
munities about  to  organize,  asking  for  advice  as  to  forms  of  or- 
ganization. This  marked  a  distinct  step  in  advance,  because 
up  to  that  time  about  the  only  things  which  had  been  borrowed 
from   older  societies  were  the  forms  of  constitutions,  which 

^  Charity  organization  societies,  associated  charities  and  societies  for  organizing 
charity  are  identical  offshoots  and  these  terms  are  used  interchangeably  throughout 
this  article. 

(638) 


THE  EXTENSION  OF  ORGANIZED  CHARITY         165 

closely  resembled  one  another.  The  objects  as  generally  stated 
included  the  development  of  cooperation,  actual  rehabilitation 
(employment  being  often  specifically  mentioned  as  one  form 
of  rehabilitation) ,  as  well  as  the  carrying  on  of  social  and  sani- 
tary reforms  to  improve  the  environmental  conditions  of  the 
neglected.  It  is  worth  noting  that  the  purposes  of  the  great 
New  York  Charity  Organization  Society,  with  its  manifold 
activities,  read  just  the  same  as  the  constitution  of  dead-in-life 
societies  which  have  been  discovered  by  the  writer  in  small 
cities  in  the  interior. 

The  recognized  societies  thus  importuned  to  advise  groups 
organizing  in  new  communities  at  first  confidently  replied  upon 
the  basis  of  their  own  experience.  Thus  in  each  part  of  the 
country  there  was  a  set  of  societies  resembling  a  model  to  be 
found  in  the  nearest  important  society  which  had  been  con- 
sulted. Thus  weakness  and  strength  alike  were  perpetuated. 
Some  new  societies  bodily  seized  ideas  from  some  society  which 
had  developed  a  particular  activity,  possibly  to  the  detriment 
of  other  more  important  activities.  For  instance,  some  soci- 
eties too  strongly  developed  industrial  agencies,  others  devel- 
oped other  specialties.  Committees  writing  to  these  particular 
agencies  copied  their  specialties. 

During  all  these  years  there  was  growing  up  a  recognition  of 
the  essential  unity  of  the  field.  This  could  not  fail  to  come 
into  existence.  There  could  be  no  barriers  separating  single 
municipalities  or  other  units.  The  small  city  found  its  most 
difficult  problem  in  this  or  that  girl  who  had  come  in  from  the 
rural  sections.  The  intermediate  city  found  that  its  group  of 
dependent  families  was  recruited  not  only  from  the  rural 
sections,  but  from  the  smaller  cities  which  had  not  intelligently 
looked  after  their  neglected  families.  The  larger  cities  gathered 
their  cases  from  all  over  the  country.  Thus  slowly  came  the 
realization  that  this  was  not  a  mere  community  problem.  This 
did  not  mean  that  each  community  should  not  be  locally  and 
independently  responsible  for  the  neglected  families  residing  in 
it.  It  did  mean,  however,  that  the  different  communities  were 
so  inter-related  that  it  was  for  the  interest  of  all  to  have  right 
principles  of  rehabilitation  everywhere  being  actively  employed. 

(639) 


1 66  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.  II 

So  there  came  to  the  leaders  in  the  movement  the  definite 
appreciation  of  the  need  of  field  work,  similar  to  that  done  in 
other  social  activities.  There  was  the  need  for  the  exchange 
of  experience,  and  for  guarding  new  movements  against  falla- 
cies and  weaknesses,  showing  them  how  to  start  on  right  founda- 
tions at  the  beginning,  thus  conserving  local  resources  in  every- 
way. 

The  field  work  was  inaugurated  as  a  Field  Department  of  The 
Survey  in  1907,  being  supported  by  the  Russell  Sage  Founda- 
tion. In  1909  it  was  taken  over  by  the  Foundation  directly 
and  made  a  part  of  the  work  of  the  Charity  Organization 
Department.  In  19 11  it  was  taken  over  by  the  National 
Association  of  Societies  for  Organizing  Charity.  It  is  being 
conducted  now,  therefore,  under  the  direction  of  some  seventy 
of  the  recognized  societies  of  the  country  for  organizing  charity, 
and  is  being  supported  by  subscriptions  received  from  the  cities 
in  which  these  societies  are  located. 

The  purpose  of  this  paper  is  not  to  consider  this  movement 
from  the  point  of  view  of  the  societies,  but  rather  from  the 
point  of  view  of  those  individuals  or  voluntary  organizations, 
like  churches,  who  are  desirous  of  helping  in  the  proper  organ- 
ization of  local  societies.  For  those  so  interested  it  is  sug- 
gested, first,  that  they  write  for  certain  pamphlets  which  are 
published  by  the  Charity  Organization  Department  of  the 
Russell  Sage  Foundation  for  the  benefit  of  the  field  work  of  the 
association.'  The  first  of  the  pamphlets  whose  title  is  given  in 
the  footnote  below  presents  concrete  suggestions  about  the 
preliminary  period  of  propaganda  and  organization  before 
actual  formation  may  be  effected.  The  second  is  a  small  eight- 
page  pamphlet  explaining  the  purposes  of  organized  charity  in 
rudimentary  form  with  illustrations,  and  is  useful  in  interesting 
people  to  whom  it  is  desirable  to  explain  the  movement.  After 
carefully  reading  these  pamphlets,  correspondence  with  the 
office  of  the  National  Association  of  Societies  for  Organizing 
Charity  is  encouraged.     Such  correspondence  should  explain 

*  Write  for  single  copies  of  The  Formation  of  Charity  Organization  Societies  in 
Smaller  Cities  and  What  is  Organized  Charity  ?  to  the  Charity  Organization  Depart- 
ment of  the  Russell  Sage  Foundation,  105  East  22d  St.,  New  York  city. 

(640) 


I 


No.  4]       THE  EXTENSION  OF  ORGANIZED  CHARITY  167 

just  who  is  interested  in  the  proposed  plan,  what  existing  soci- 
eties may  be  more  or  less  affected,  from  whom  the  proposition 
for  organization  has  come,  and  as  far  as  possible  should  give 
some  characterization  of  the  family  problems  which  are  coming 
to  the  existing  organizations  and  of  the  public  health  and  child 
problems  which  are  most  imminent.  What  will  be  emphasized 
by  the  national  association's  officers  is  that  there  is  need  of 
considering  several  elements  in  the  community,  and  that  until 
all  these  elements  are  interested,  it  is  foolish  to  attempt  an 
organization.  To  explain  what  is  meant  it  may  be  well  to  say 
that  the  idea  of  organization  may  come  from  totally  different 
sources.  It  may  come  from  a  group  of  churches  who  feel  that 
there  is  duplication  in  relief  and  that  this  ought  to  be  changed. 
This  may  be  a  public  need,  but  no  organization  effected  to  deal 
solely  with  this  will  ever  gain  any  large  public  support.  Its 
work  will  be  negative,  and  no  negative  enterprise  will  ever  com- 
mand the  sympathy  of  a  community.  The  idea  may  develop 
in  some  commercial  organization  which,  however,  is  looking  at 
it  from  largely  the  same  point  of  view.  That  is,  the  men  are 
more  or  less  bothered  by  applications  of  all  kinds  made  per- 
sonally and  otherwise.  Or  again,  it  may  develop  out  of  a  group 
of  broad-minded  citizens  who  realize  the  need  of  a  central  re- 
habilitating society,  bringing  into  proper  coordination  in  con- 
nection with  individual  family  problems  all  the  social  agencies 
of  the  city  so  that  comprehensive  plans  for  individual  treatment 
may  be  worked  out  through  the  office  and  staff  of  the  central 
society.  Wherever  it  starts  from  there  is  the  need  of  interest- 
ing the  other  two  groups.  This  does  not  mean  obtaining 
unanimity  of  opinion.  Such  organizations  always  have  more 
or  less  opposition  to  deal  with.  It  means,  however,  that  the 
business  men  must  be  interested  to  such  a  degree  that  the  board 
of  directors  created  may  be  composed  largely  of  business  men. 
It  means  that  of  the  agencies  already  dealing  with  the  families 
in  their  homes,  all,  or  at  least  some  of  the  more  important, 
should  be  willing  to  work  upon  the  committees  of  such  a  society. 
It  means  that  the  interest  of  those  who  have  social  programs  of 
other  kinds  to  carry  on  should  be  enlisted  to  some  degree. 
Another  definite  principle  which  must  be  accepted  at  the 

(641) 


1 68  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK  [Vol.  II 

very  start,  if  failure  is  to  be  avoided,  is  that  such  a  society 
must  be  led  by  a  trained  charity  organization  worker  from 
another  city.  This  is  where  many  of  the  earlier  societies  failed 
completely.  There  was  not  sufficient  backbone  in  the  move- 
ment to  accept  the  principle  and  live  up  to  it.  Therefore,  per- 
sons without  sufficient  ability  and  training  were  accepted  as 
general  secretaries,  and  the  societies  failed  completely.  In- 
deed, the  idea  of  service  is  the  crux  of  the  whole  matter  at  the 
start.  There  can  be  no  compromise  on  this  point.  There  may 
be  upon  almost  every  other  detail  excepting  this.  The  work 
is  too  important  to  the  community's  welfare  to  be  left  entirely 
to  untrained  hands.  Furthermore,  experience  in  the  field 
work  of  the  last  five  years  has  demonstrated  that  cities  of 
10,000  or  over  are  generally  able  to  support  a  society  with 
proper  trained  service.  For  cities  under  10,000  other  special 
plans  may  have  to  be  tried.  The  national  association  is  en- 
deavoring to  carry  on  experimentation  in  these  smaller  cities 
with  the  hope  of  working  out  some  general  principles  of  action 
which,  with  adaptations,  may  be  generally  used.  At  the  pres- 
ent time  there  is  no  publication  dealing  specifically  with  the 
problem  of  the  city  under  10,000.  The  association,  however, 
welcomes  correspondence  regarding  the  problems  of  organiza- 
tion in  these  smaller  cities. 

Another  idea  which  is  strongly  emphasized  in  the  pamphlet 
above  mentioned  is  that  temporary  enthusiasm  should  not  be 
confounded  with  grim  determination.  Societies  which  are 
started  upon  the  spur  of  the  moment,  and  as  the  result  of  one 
meeting,  for  instance,  are  liable  to  fall  by  the  wayside.  It  is 
necessary  that  there  be  a  great  deal  of  talking  and  advising. 
The  propaganda  period  should  extend,  therefore,  from  one 
month  to  one  or  two  years,  indeed  up  to  the  point  where  those 
interested  feel  certain  that  they  have  a  group  which  is  deter- 
mined to  stand  by  the  movement  during  its  first  two  years  of 
troublous  existence.  Not  until  there  is  this  group,  with  this 
determination,  is  it  time  to  consider  definite  organization. 

So  far  we  have  been  reviewing  some  of  the  points  which  have 
developed  out  of  the  field  experience.  We  have  suggested 
above  also    that   the  national  association  will  welcome  corre- 

(642) 


No.  4]       THE  EXTENSION  OF  ORGANIZED  CHARITY         169 

spondence  from  either  a  single  individual  or  a  group  that  has 
started  on  a  campaign  for  organization.  A  great  deal  may  be 
effected  through  such  correspondence.  The  records  of  the 
national  association  show  that  in  some  instances  organization 
has  been  effected  without  going  beyond  this  correspondence 
stage,  so  far  as  the  association  is  concerned. 

This  brings  us  up  to  the  real  field  work.  For  the  informa- 
tion of  local  groups  we  would  state  that  the  kinds  of  visits  made 
by  the  field  secretaries  of  the  association  are  two-fold  in 
character.  Visits  of  a  day  or  two  days  are  sometimes  made, 
whenever  they  may  be  fitted  into  the  road  schedules,  upon 
groups  which  are  in  the  preliminary  stages.  Organization  is 
not  attempted  at  this  time.  There  may  be  the  suggestion  of 
how  best  to  steer  the  committee,  there  may  be  talks  given  be- 
fore representatives  of  societies  or  before  commercial  organiza- 
tions. Such  visits  make  it  possible  for  the  field  workers  of  the 
association  to  speak  with  more  local  knowledge  than  if  the  visit 
had  not  been  made.  These  preliminary  visits  have  increased 
in  numbers  during  the  last  two  years.  They  have  been  found 
quite  effective. 

The  second  type  of  visit  comes  at  a  later  period,  generally 
just  before  the  local  group  considers  that  the  definite  plunge 
into  concrete  organization  should  be  made.  These  visits  are 
generally  of  longer  duration.  If  the  demands  upon  the  field 
force  were  not  so  overwhelming  it  is  probable  that  no  organiz- 
ing visit  of  less  than  a  week  would  ever  be  proposed  by  us. 
Of  course,  no  field  secretary  himself  can  relieve  a  local  com- 
mittee of  its  responsibilities.  He  comes  in  simply  to  help  in 
the  proper  rounding  up.  In  doing  so  he  often  finds  it  neces- 
sary to  press  home  the  principles  above  indicated.  These 
principles  may  have  been  accepted  by  the  group  primarily 
interested.  This  group  may,  however,  have  met  with  consider- 
able opposition  in  the  community  itself.  By  reason  of  the 
lack  of  concrete  experience  of  its  individual  members,  they 
have  been  perhaps  somewhat  handicapped  in  answering  the  ob- 
jections which  have  been  raised  by  this  or  that  individual  or 
society.  These  objections  are  of  two  kinds.  The  first  have  to 
do  with  the  form  of  organization  itself,  and  the  storm  center  is 

(643) 


I70  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.  II 

often  around  the  question  of  paid  service.  The  second  kind  of 
objections  are  the  most  difficult  to  meet  oftentimes.  These 
objections  acknowledge  the  reasonableness  of  the  plan,  but 
affirm  that  while  other  cities  may  have  been  able  to  carry  on 
such  a  plan,  this  particular  city  is  not  able  to  undertake  the 
burden.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  field  secretary  to  show  what 
cities  of  the  same  size  have  done,  and  what  their  experiences 
have  been.  It  is  his  duty  to  make  such  observations  as  will 
indicate  that  in  the  city  concerned  there  are  the  same  problems 
as  are  found  in  other  cities  which  have  already  met  the  need 
by  organizing.  It  is  his  duty  constantly  to  give  illustrations  of 
family  rehabilitation  work  in  other  cities,  to  show  how  other 
cities  have  financed  their  societies.  It  is  his  duty  to  uncover 
any  fallacies  or  weaknesses  in  plans  which  have  been  evolved 
through  the  notions  or  ideas  of  people  inside  or  outside  of  the 
groups  primarily  interested.  It  is  his  province,  not  to  be  a 
"  spellbinder,"  but  to  meet  with  conferences  of  people  whose 
interest  in  the  movement  is  absolutely  essential.  It  is  his  duty 
often  to  go  even  further  and  with  members  of  the  preliminary 
committee  to  visit  individually  this  person  and  that.  He  must 
give  advice  as  to  the  proper  shaping  up  of  final  organization, 
as  to  what  committees  there  should  be,  how  they  should  be 
formed,  what  persons  definitely  should  be  asked  to  serve  upon 
them.  In  a  good  many  instances  he  may  help  in  securing  the 
consent  of  persons  to  serve  upon  the  board  of  directors.  He 
can  do  all  this,  of  course,  by  himself,  but  cannot  effect  organi- 
zation. He  must  count  upon  the  steering  or  preliminary  com- 
mittee serving  as  the  responsible  agent  and  working  steadily 
toward  the  final  meeting  for  organizing  purposes.  In  order  to 
render  the  most  effective  service,  therefore,  visits  of  not  less 
than  a  week  should  be  made  at  this  time.  There  are  excep- 
tions to  this,  of  course.  The  trouble  is  that  the  association 
has  been  obliged,  by  reason  of  the  pressure  of  work,  to  limit 
many  visits  to  briefer  periods,  simply  to  cover  as  much  ground 
as  possible.  But  on  the  whole  the  policy  of  the  association 
has  been  distinctly  against  the  idea  of  covering  the  ground  at 
too  great  sacrifice  of  intensive  work. 

There  are  all  kinds  of  variations  from  the  two  types  of  visits 

(644) 


No.  4]       THE  EXTENSION  OF  ORGANIZED  CHARITY         1 7 1 

above  indicated.  Thus  there  is  the  question  of  the  reorganiza- 
tion of  old  societies,  which  have  seen  the  Hght  and  desire  to 
measure  up  to  their  community  responsibilities.  Each  visit  of 
reorganization  is  radically  different  from  the  one  preceding  it 
and  the  one  following.  There  are  also  visits  made  to  societies 
not  needing  reorganization,  but  seeking  specific  advice  as  to 
some  particular  activity  which  they  may  wish  to  inaugurate,  or 
desiring  to  learn  whether  in  some  particular  department  of  work 
they  may  not  be  strengthened. 

It  may  happen  that  some  individual  or  organization  is  in  a 
community  where  the  society  itself,  though  a  dead-in-life  one, 
does  not  realize  its  condition.  This  society  or  individual 
realizes  the  extent  of  the  uncovered  field  and  may  wish  to 
learn  how  effective  reorganization  may  be  brought  about.  It 
must  be  realized,  of  course,  that  the  association  must  recognize 
a  comity  in  its  relation  with  such  societies.  Of  course,  many 
of  these  organizations  are  not  really  associated  charities  or 
charity  organization  societies.  It  may  be  of  interest  here  to 
note  that  in  addition  to  the  some  seventy  societies  which  are 
members  of  the  national  association,  there  are  only  about  sixty 
other  societies  whose  standards  are  such  that  they  are  eligible 
for  admission  to  it.  Yet  there  are  almost  two  hundred  and 
fifty  so-called  associated  charities  which  are  listed  in  the 
directory  of  such  societies.  In  the  case  we  are  considering 
there  is  an  organization  masquerading  under  the  title.  Nothing 
can  be  hoped  for  from  violent  action.  It  is  generally  a  mistake 
simply  to  overlook  the  older  organization  and  say  we  will  start 
afresh.  It  is  far  preferable  to  secure  its  consent  to  have  a  field 
worker  come  in  and  in  a  perfectly  friendly  spirit  make  recom- 
mendations for  reorganization.  Sometimes,  indeed,  the  pres- 
sure exerted  by  the  other  social  agencies  in  the  community 
may  induce  such  an  old  organization  to  develop  to  its  proper 
stature.  In  these  different  instances  the  national  association  is 
glad  to  correspond  with  those  who  feel  the  lack.  It  feels  much 
easier  and  can  help  with  greater  effect  whenever  the  coopera- 
tion of  the  old  society  is  secured.  But  the  welfare  of  the  com- 
munity itself  must  be  the  most  important  consideration. 
Therefore,  other  methods  of  meeting  the  situation  are  some- 
times open  and  may  be  discussed  with  the  association. 

(645) 


172  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK  [Vol.  II 

We  have  just  spoken  of  the  welfare  of  the  community  as  the 
most  important  consideration.  It  may  be  permitted  at  this 
point  to  indicate  just  how  we  consider  the  charity  organization 
society  movement  should  function  in  the  smaller  cities  of  the 
country.  Most  people  would  concede  that  out  of  the  great 
mass  of  people  who  have  not  been  thinking  socially  the  largest 
number  of  recruits  to  the  whole  social  army  will  come  through 
that  particular  social  activity  whose  need  in  a  rudimentary  way 
will  be  recognized  by  practically  all  in  a  community.  That 
need,  of  course,  is  the  rehabilitation  of  dependent  families.  To 
the  great  mass  of  the  uninstructed  that  will  simply  indicate 
material  relief,  but  it  is  the  natural  starting  point.  With  the 
proper  family  rehabilitation  society  you  are  educating  one  per- 
son after  another  of  this  uninstructed  mass.  Their  ideas  are 
very  rudimentary.  Many  do  not  get  beyond  the  rudimentary 
stage.  But  many  others  do  travel  along  with  the  slowly  unfold- 
ing idea  of  an  efficient  society.  Therefore,  the  importance  of 
a  broadly  founded  society  for  cities  of  all  sizes  in  the  country 
cannot  be  overstated.  It  is  most  important  where  the  social 
thinking  of  the  whole  nation,  outside  of  those  cities  which  are 
great  centers  of  social  thinking,  depends  upon  the  proper  ex- 
tension of  the  family  rehabilitation  group.  It  matters  not 
whether  a  particular  charity  organization  society  itself  carries 
on  the  social  reforms  which  are  indicated  by  its  family  work, 
or  educates  the  community  up  to  the  point  of  other  societies 
undertaking  them ;  that  must  be  decided  by  local  conditions. 
But  it  does  matter  very  much  to  any  community  whether  there 
is  in  it  this  society  which  is  day  by  day  and  week  by  week 
opening  the  eyes  of  the  uninstructed  to  a  sense  of  social  re- 
sponsibility of  varying  kinds.  And  thus  there  is  involved  in  its 
proper  extension  far  more  than  a  strengthening  of  the  com- 
munity of  action  between  the  movement  as  one  goes  from  city 
to  city.  Its  proper  extension  is  the  best  foundation  for  the 
local  strengthening  of  all  the  other  great  national  movements. 
Thus  it  has  got  far  beyond  the  provincialism  which  marked  its 
first  twenty-five  years  of  existence  in  this  country.  That  pro- 
vincialism was  a  fortunate  one  in  many  ways.  Each  one  of  the 
societies  had  a  hard  fight  against  misunderstandings  and  toward 

(646) 


No.  4]       THE  EXTENSION  OF  ORGANIZED  CHARITY         1 73 

greater  efficiency.  Those  that  were  weak  fell  by  the  wayside. 
Those  that  developed  strongly  could  become  a  part  of  the 
national  movement.  It  has  been  somewhat  difficult  to  awaken 
many  of  the  societies  to  a  sense  of  the  national  responsibility. 
Nevertheless  the  interest  and  enthusiasm  in  what  the  societies 
regard  as  a  great  missionary  movement  is  constantly  upon  the 
increase.  They  have  not  become  confused  by  the  multiplicity 
of  other  national  movements  in  which  their  own  leaders  were 
more  or  less  involved,  but  are  more  strongly  convinced  than 
ever  that  the  very  complexity  of  the  social  vision  which  they 
observe  makes  it  even  more  vitally  necessary  that  the  family  re- 
habilitation movement  should  be  strongly  pressed  in  every 
community  of  any  size.  For  that  movement  is  becoming  a 
greater  and  greater  national  force  towards  socialization. 

(647) 


THE  SOCIAL  PROGRAM  OF  THE  FEDERAL  COUNCIL 
OF  THE  CHURCHES  OF  CHRIST  IN  AMERICA 

CHARLES  S.  MACFARLAND 

Secretary  of  the  Federal  Council  and  of  its  Commission  on  the  Church  and  Social 

Service 

THE  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America 
is  composed  of  thirty-one  evangelical  denominations 
united,  not  upon  the  basis  of  a  common  faith  and  order* 
but  under  the  principle  of  unity  and  diversity,  uniting  in  one 
common  service  all  forms  of  faith  and  order  as  represented  in 
its  constituency.  The  task  of  its  commission  on  the  church 
and  social  service  is  that  of  inspiring  in  the  churches  of  the 
nation  a  deepening  interest  in  the  problems  of  the  social  order, 
and  of  bringing  to  bear  the  influence  of  the  Christian  church  in 
the  solution  of  our  social  problems. 

Two  great  interests  come  together  in  this  work,  that  of  church 
unity  and  that  of  social  service.  The  various  forms  of  social 
uplift  which  are  before  the  church  offer  one  of  the  most  vital 
and  permanent  of  reasons  and  opportunities  for  federating  the 
churches.  On  the  other  hand  the  opportunities  for  social  ser- 
vice are  of  such  a  nature  that  they  can  be  fulfilled,  in  large 
measure,  only  by  the  churches  acting  together.  Social  service 
is  thus  in  part  the  basis  of  the  Federal  Council,  and  the  Federal 
Council  offers  the  basis  for  social  service. 

The  task  of  the  commission  on  the  church  and  social  service 
is  indicated  by  the  recommendations  unanimously  adopted  by 
the  Federal  Council  in  Philadelphia  in  1908,  as  contained  in  the 
report  of  the  committee,  published  under  the  title  The  Church 
and  Modern  Industry^  of  which  the  following  are  typical 
utterances : 

The  churches  of  Christ  in  this  Federal  Council  accept  without 
reserve  and  assert  without  apology  the  supreme  authority  of  Jesus 
Christ.  Christ's  mission  is  not  merely  to  reform  society,  but  to  save  it. 
He  is  more  than  the  world's  readjuster.     He  is  its  Redeemer. 

(648) 


SOCIAL  PROGRAM  OF  THE  CHURCHES  175 

The  Church  becomes  worthless  for  its  higher  purpose  when  it  deals 
with  conditions  and  forgets  character,  relieves  misery  and  ignores  sin, 
pleads  for  justice  and  undervalues  forgiveness.  The  Church  stands 
forever  for  the  two-world  theory  of  life.  The  Church's  doors  open 
upon  the  common  levels  of  life.  They  should  never  be  closed.  Its 
windows  open  toward  the  skies.  Let  their  light  not  be  darkened.  The 
Church  is  not  an  end  in  itself.  The  services  of  the  Church  become 
subordinate  to  the  Church's  services  to  men. 

At  no  time  have  the  disadvantages  of  the  sectarian  divisions  of  the 
Church  been  more  apparent  than  when  the  call  has  come  for  a  common 
policy  or  a  united  utterance  concerning  such  problems  as  modern  in- 
dustry now  presents.  This  Federal  Council  may  find  some  method 
for  bringing  the  Protestant  Christianity  of  America  into  relations  of 
closer  sympathy  and  more  effective  helpfulness  with  the  toiling  millions 
of  our  land.  The  Church  does  not  stand  for  the  present  social  order, 
but  only  for  so  much  of  it  as  accords  with  the  principles  laid  down  by 
Jesus  Christ.  The  Federal  Council  places  upon  record  its  profound 
belief  that  the  complex  problems  of  modem  industry  can  be  interpreted 
and  solved  only  by  the  teachings  of  the  New  Testament,  and  that  Jesus 
Christ  is  the  final  authority  in  the  social  as  in  the  individual  life.  The 
Church  now  confronts  the  most  significant  crisis  and  the  greatest  oppor- 
tunity of  its  long  career.  We  recognize  the  complex  nature  of  industrial 
obligations,  affecting  employer  and  employe,  society  and  government, 
rich  and  poor,  and  most  earnestly  counsel  tolerance,  patience  and  mu- 
tual confidence  \  we  do  not  defend  or  excuse  wrongdoing  in  high  places 
or  in  low,  nor  purpose  to  adapt  the  ethical  standards  of  the  Gospel  to 
the  exigencies  of  commerce  or  the  codes  of  a  confused  industrial 
system. 

We  deem  it  the  duty  of  all  Christian  people  to  concern  themselves 
directly  with  certain  practical  industrial  problems.  To  us  it  seems  that 
the  churches  must  stand  for  equal  rights  and  complete  justice  for  all 
men  in  all  stations  of  life  j  for  the  right  of  all  men  to  the  opportunity 
for  self -maintenance,  a  right  ever  to  be  wisely  and  strongly  safeguarded 
against  encroachments  of  every  kind ;  for  the  right  of  workers  to  some 
protection  against  the  hardships  often  resulting  from  the  swift  crises  of 
industrial  change ;  for  the  principle  of  conciliation  and  arbitration  in 
industrial  dissensions ;  for  the  protection  of  the  worker  from  dangerous 
machinery,  occupational  disease,  injuries  and  mortality ;  for  the  aboli- 
tion of  child  labor ;  for  such  regulation  of  the  conditions  of  toil  for 
women  as  shall  safeguard  the  physical  and  moral  health  of  the  commu- 
nity ;  for  the  suppression  of  the  sweating  system ;  for  the  gradual  and 

(-49) 


176  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.11 

reasonable  reduction  of  the  hours  of  labor  to  the  lowest  practicable 
point,  and  for  that  degree  of  leisure  for  all  which  is  a  condition  of  the 
highest  human  life  ;  for  a  release  from  employment  one  day  in  seven ; 
for  a  living  wage  as  a  minimum  in  every  industry ,  and  for  the  highest 
wage  that  each  industry  can  afford ;  for  the  most  equitable  division  of 
the  products  of  industry  that  can  ultimately  be  devised ;  for  suitable 
provision  for  the  old  age  of  the  workers  and  for  those  incapacitated 
by  injury  ;  for  the  abatement  of  poverty. 

While  this  social  or  industrial  creed  of  the  churches  relates 
mainly  to  the  problems  of  industry,  it  is  thus  far  a  significant 
indication  of  the  attitude  to  which  the  Christian  church  is 
coming,  with  relation  to  all  the  questions  of  the  social  order. 
In  the  carrying  out  of  these  principles  a  national  office  of  the 
commission,  in  association  with  the  Federal  Council,  has  become 
a  center  for  information,  inspiration  and  guidance  in  the  social 
work  of  the  churches. 

Through  interdenominational  action,  the  commission  will 
bring  about  coordination  and  cooperation  among  the  denomina- 
tions composing  the  Federal  Council,  including,  so  far  as  may 
be  possible,  the  adoption  of  a  common  program,  the  use  of 
common  literature  and  the  presentation  of  the  united  appeal  of 
the  gospel  in  its  application  to  social  problems  and  opportunities. 
Through  this  interdenominational  cooperation  will  come  the 
development  of  this  aspect  of  the  work  of  the  churches,  the 
education  of  the  ministry  and  the  churches  for  it,  and  the 
equipment  of  the  churches  for  carrying  it  forward. 

One  of  the  most  important  matters  in  relation  to  the  whole 
problem  is  that  of  the  preparation  of  the  ministers  to  meet  these 
great  tasks.  Representing  the  churches  of  the  Federal  Council, 
the  commission  will  cooperate  with  the  theological  seminaries, 
so  far  as  it  is  invited  and  permitted,  in  the  formulation  of  a 
policy  with  regard  to  instruction  and  practical  training  in  this 
important  subject. 

While  on  the  one  hand  our  ministers  have  not  been  altogether 
prepared  in  the  theological  seminaries  for  this  work,  it  is  perhaps 
equally  true  that  our  social  workers  have  gone  out  without 
adequate  training  as  to  their  relations  with  the  Christian  church. 

(650) 


No.  4]  SOCIAL  PROGRAM  OF  THE  CHURCHES  \  77 

Therefore  the  same  cooperation  should  obtain  with  the  various 
schools  for  the  preparation  of  social  workers,  that  they,  upon 
their  side,  may  also  come  into  a  proper  working  relation  with 
the  Christian  churches. 

The  instruction  in  social  sciences  and  ethics  in  our  colleges 
and  universities,  imparted  to  young  men  and  women  who  will  be 
leaders  of  the  church  life  of  the  nation,  will  be  the  subject  of 
investigation  and  mutual  consideration,  through  conferences  and 
inquiry. 

The  relation  of  the  churches  to  the  multitude  of  agencies  for 
social  reform  and  betterment  is  an  important  problem  before 
the  commission.  Its  influence,  together  with  that  of  the  de- 
nominations and  churches  which  it  represents,  will  be  brought 
to  cooperate,  so  far  as  possible,  with  such  societies  and  move- 
ments, in  relation  especially  to  those  measures  which  affect  the 
moral  and  spiritual  welfare  of  the  people.  This  will  include 
such  matters  as  child  and  woman  labor,  occupational  disease, 
Sunday  labor,  seven-day  labor,  the  reduction  of  hours,  the 
betterment  of  wages,  health,  housing  conditions,  vice  and  crime, 
and  many  other  similar  questions,  including  both  social  wrong 
and  social  wrongs,  social  righteousness  and  social  rights.  The 
relations  between  local  charity  organizations,  social  settlements 
and  similar  local  work  will  be  taken  up  and  considered,  by  con- 
ference and  inquiry,  from  the  viewpoint  of  the  churches. 

Few  people  have  realized  the  extent  to  which  our  home 
mission  work  involves  social  problems  and  includes  the  work  of 
social  organization.  Indeed,  the  churches  in  home  mission 
fields  are  often,  if  not  generally,  the  initiators  of  the  social  and 
community  institutions.  This  work  will  be  studied,  encouraged 
and  developed.  This  commission  and  the  home  mission  com- 
mittee will  work  in  cooperation  to  that  end.  In  the  foreign 
mission  field  also,  this  branch  of  Christian  service  has  in  some 
cases  developed  more  fully  than  in  our  own  land,  especially  in 
industrial,  medical  and  educational  work,  which  has  lifted  for- 
eign nations  to  a  higher  social  level.  This  work  will  be  made 
the  subject  of  careful  research  and  continued  development,  by 
a  working  relation  between  the  commission  and  the  committee 
on  foreign  missions. 

(651) 


178  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.  II 

By  the  constant  issuing  of  literature  in  leaflets  and  handbooks 
for  serious  study,  and  the  use  of  the  religious,  daily  and  weekly 
press,  the  growing  accumulation  of  material  relating  to  social  up- 
lift and  social  causes  will  be  put  into  shape  so  as  to  be  used  by 
the  churches  for  education  and  incitement  to  service.  Authors 
are  now  being  found  for  a  series  of  handbooks  of  a  popular 
nature,  to  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  pastors  for  use  in  church 
classes. 

The  labor  and  trade  journals  are  receiving  bulletins  informing 
industrial  workers  and  managers  of  the  deepening  interest  of 
the  church  in  their  common  problems  and  duty. 

Lists  of  speakers,  lecturers  and  instructors  are  being  pre- 
pared, and  a  lantern-slide  bureau  is  being  established  and  de- 
veloped. The  commission  will  confer  with  labor  representatives 
and  will  send  its  delegates  to  their  gatherings.  Similarly  it  will 
confer  with  groups  of  business  men  and  send  delegates  to  their 
gatherings.  It  will  confer  in  joint  meetings  of  both  of  these 
groups  in  modern  industry  and  issue  its  challenge  to  both  of 
them  to  unite  with  the  church  in  a  common  service.  The 
secretary  of  the  commission  is  a  fraternal  delegate  to  the 
American  Federation  of  Labor. 

Investigations  will  be  made  in  various  large  and  important 
industries,  similar  to  the  investigation  of  the  steel  industry  by  a 
special  committee  of  the  commission  in  19 10.  Similar  investi- 
gations in  local  communities  will  be  made  through  pastors  and 
other  local  agents.  A  report  of  such  an  investigation  by  a 
committee  which  spent  several  days  on  the  ground  has  just 
been  issued  concerning  the  industrial  situation  at  Muscatine, 
Iowa. 

A  nation-wide  campaign  is  being  carried  on,  endeavoring  to 
cover  all  the  states  of  the  union,  to  secure  one  day's  rest  in 
seven  for  industrial  workers.  Committees  in  the  various  states 
are  now  being  organized  and  the  various  forces  brought  to- 
gether to  this  end. 

The  commission  will  continue  to  encourage  the  observance 
of  Labor  Sunday  in  the  pulpits  and  by  the  churches  of  the 
nation.  Last  year  thousands  of  pulpits  carried  out  a  program 
prepared   by  the    commission,    in   many   cases   union   services 

(652) 


No.  4]  SOCIAL  PROGRAM  OF  THE  CHURCHES  \  79 

being  held,  at  which  a  large  number  of  the  churches  of  the 
cities  came  together. 

More  recent  activities  of  the  commission  have  been  in  relation 
to  the  Men  and  Religion  Forward  Movement.  It  now  has  the 
task  of  assisting  in  the  conservation  of  the  social-service  work 
that  has  been  begun  in  the  various  cities  through  the  agency  of 
this  great  movement.  For  this  work  a  comprehensive  program 
has  been  sent  out  to  all  the  cities  of  the  nation.  A  conference 
on  this  subject  will  be  held  at  Silver  Bay  in  June. 

Under  the  combined  auspices  of  the  Commission  and  other 
agencies  in  the  Federal  Council  a  beginning  has  been  made 
toward  coordinating  the  churches  and  religious  agencies  which 
offer  leadership  in  the  work  of  rural  betterment.  An  endeavor 
will  be  made  to  provide  bibliographies  for  the  aid  of  rural 
helpers,  instruction  as  to  social  surveys  by  local  churches,  pro- 
grams for  community  service  for  country  and  rural  churches, 
and  a  bureau  for  public  service,  relating  to  all  rural  studies, 
methods  and  problems.  In  addition  to  these  efforts,  the  com- 
mission will  stand  ready  to  take  up  any  special  social  task  that 
may  fall  to  its  lot. 

The  work  of  this  commission  must  be  done  mainly  through 
the  various  denominational  agencies,  and  for  this  purpose  a 
cabinet  has  been  formed  of  the  secretaries  or  other  representa- 
tives of  the  various  denominational  commissions  on  social 
service. 

The  hterature  of  the  commission  is  assuming  large  propor- 
tions, and  in  addition  to  this  the  various  denominational  com- 
missions are  already  providing  the  churches  under  their  re- 
spective care  with  definite,  concrete  programs  for  the  social 
work  of  churches  or  parishes. 

At  a  conference  held  in  Chicago  in  November  191 1  repre- 
sentatives of  seventeen  denominations  adopted  this  general 
program  of  the  Federal  Council  commission  and  voted  to  enter 
into  a  working  relation  to  carry  it  out.  It  looks  as  though  in 
this  great  task  which  is  before  the  church  at  the  present 
moment  she  would  move  as  one  body ;  and  it  may  be  said  that 
there  has  been  no  more  potent  agency  in  bringing  about  Chris- 
tian unity  than  this  task  of  social  service. 

(653) 


CITY-PLANNING  IN  NEW  YORK  CITY— HOW  ALL  CAN 

COOPERATE 

GEORGE   B.    FORD 
Lecturer  on  City-Planning,  Columbia  University;  City-Planning  Expert,  Newark,  N.  J. 

CITY-PLANNING  as  a  science  is  of  recent  origin,  but  city- 
planning,  such  as  it  was,  began  with  the  first  streets  and 
the  first  docks  laid  out  by  the  original  Dutch  settlers  in 
New  York.  For  the  first  two  centuries  of  its  existence  the  plan 
of  New  York  developed  in  a  haphazard  manner ;  it  followed  the 
demands  of  immediate  convenience.  It  was  not  until  1807, 
when  a  few  optimistic  men  laid  out  a  street  plan  for  all  the  rest 
of  Manhattan  Island,  that  any  thought  was  taken  for  the  future 
of  the  city.  The  great  mass  of  the  public  thought  the  men  who 
designed  this  plan  absolutely  crazy  in  imagining  that  New  York 
would  ever  grow  to  such  a  size ;  however,  this  plan  has  been 
followed  above  Fourth  street  and  it  is  substantially  our  present 
gridiron  scheme.  As  water  transportation  was  of  primary  im- 
portance in  those  days,  and  as  no  one  foresaw  the  changes 
which  would  be  brought  about  by  the  application  of  steam  and 
electricity  to  transportation,  the  whole  street  layout  was  based 
on  the  idea  of  the  maximum  amount  of  intercourse  between  the 
two  waterfronts  and  a  minimum  amount  of  movement  the 
length  of  the  island.  In  the  Hght  of  our  present  knowledge 
this  arrangement  should  have  been  exactly  reversed,  and  the 
long  city  blocks  should  have  run  north  and  south  instead  of  east 
and  west. 

A  few  squares  and  small  parks  were  sprinkled  over  this  plan, 
but  no  large  park  was  provided  for  until  Central  Park  was  set 
apart  and  laid  out  in  1858;  then  followed  Prospect  Park  and 
much  later  the  Bronx  parks.  Morningside  Park,  the  Speedway, 
Riverside  Drive  with  its  extensions.  Forest  Park  and  other 
smaller  ones  followed  in  due  time ;  while  latterly  we  have  the 
new  Coney  Island  and  Rockaway  reservations.  These  parks 
have  been  the  greatest  boon  to  New  York  city ;  they  have  been 

(654) 


CITY-PLANNING  IN  NEW  YORK  CITY  i8i 

aptly  described  as  the  "  lungs  "  of  the  city.  They  have  had  a 
marked  effect  on  its  healthfulness  and  enjoyableness ;  they  have 
been  of  particular  benefit  to  the  children.  Furthermore,  they 
are  among  the  most  beautiful  parks  in  the  country. 

New  York  has  done  much,  too,  in  the  way  of  playgrounds. 
The  playground  movement,  to  be  sure,  has  been  of  compar- 
atively recent  origin,  the  principal  development  being  within 
the  last  ten  years ;  and  while  there  are  a  number  of  well- 
equipped  and  well-managed  playgrounds  in  the  crowded  portions 
of  the  city,  they  are  quite  inadequate  in  size  or  number  for  the 
needs  of  the  community.  The  difficulty  is  that  land  costs  so 
much  now  in  congested  districts  that  anything  like  an  adequate 
acquisition  of  space  for  public  playgrounds  becomes  impossible. 
The  recreation  piers  have  done  something  to  solve  the  difficulty, 
but  it  remains  so  to  plan  the  outlying  districts  that  the  mistakes 
of  the  past  may  be  avoided  in  the  future. 

New  systems  of  streets  are  being  laid  out  all  the  time ;  not 
only  is  the  whole  street  layout  of  1807  solidly  built  up,  but  the 
same  congestion  extends  into  large  areas  of  Brooklyn  and  the 
Bronx,  and  is  even  beginning  to  extend  into  Queens  and  Rich- 
mond. Each  of  the  five  boroughs  has  its  own  topographical 
department  or  bureau  of  surveys,  which  is  constantly  laying  out 
new  streets.  Over  all  the  bureaus  is  the  engineering  depart- 
ment of  the  board  of  estimate  and  apportionment,  which  is  try- 
ing valiantly  to  unify  the  whole  street  development  of  the  city. 
Owing  to  the  powerlessness  of  the  city  to  control  private  sub- 
divisions, it  is  most  difficult  to  work  out  an  ideal  general  plan 
for  the  five  boroughs.  Attempts  are  being  made  to  study  this 
problem  in  a  scientific  way,  particularly  in  the  Borough  of 
Manhattan,  but  this  work  receives  very  little  support  from  the 
pubHc,  on  account  of  a  lack  of  understanding  of  its  great 
advantages. 

The  transit  problem  is  at  present  much  before  the  public. 
We  already  have  in  our  street  cars,  elevated  railroads  and  sub- 
ways an  interesting  and  earnest  attempt  to  solve  this  problem ; 
the  new  routes  now  being  laid  out  will  do  a  great  deal  more 
toward  rounding  out  the  transit  system  of  New  York.  A  great 
deal  remains  to  be  done,  however,  and  this  can  be  done  only 

(655) 


1 82  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.11 

when  the  general  public  awakes  to  a  realization  of  the  impor- 
tance of  the  subject. 

In  its  dock  development  New  York  is  very  fortunate.  In 
Manhattan,  in  particular,  the  city  owns  nearly  ninety  per  cent  of 
the  waterfront,  and  can  thereby  control  its  future  development. 
It  is  greatly  to  be  regretted  that  it  does  not  have  a  similar  con- 
trol over  the  waterfront  in  the  other  boroughs.  It  has  in  the 
privately  owned  Bush  Terminal  in  Brooklyn  the  best  example  in 
America  of  a  scientifically  developed  port  scheme.  The  effi- 
cient and  economical  relation  here  between  the  piers,  the  sheds, 
the  factories  and  the  dwellings  with  their  intercommunicating 
railways  and  sidings  are  most  worthy  of  careful  study.  The 
present  dock  commissioner.  Honorable  Calvin  Tomkins,  has 
presented  many  good  schemes  for  the  scientific  use  and  devel- 
opment of  the  city's  waterfront.  No  unsupported  public  offi- 
cial, however,  can  carry  through  such  plans. 

The  railways  are  continually  making  progress  in  the  solution 
of  the  problem  of  the  transportation  of  goods  into  and  out  of 
the  city  and  between  different  parts  of  the  city,  but  they  are 
greatly  hampered  by  lack  of  understanding  and  cooperation  on 
the  part  of  the  general  public  and  thereby  of  the  city.  There 
is  an  enormous  amount  of  time,  energy  and  money  wasted  in 
New  York  by  lack  of  adequate  and  scientifically  placed  and 
planned  freight  terminals  and  connections.  The  problems  of 
what  to  do  with  the  lower  west  side  of  Manhattan  and  how  to 
take  care  of  the  new  industrial  development  in  the  Bronx  are 
problems  of  vital  importance  affecting  the  whole  question  of  the 
high  cost  of  living,  yet  little  is  done  to  help  bring  about  a 
solution. 

In  the  transportation  of  people  in  and  out  of  the  city  by  the 
railways  we  have  another  great  and  important  problem,  one  on 
which  an  enormous  amount  of  money  has  recently  been  spent 
by  roads  like  the  New  York  Central  and  the  Pennsylvania;  yet 
in  the  latter  case  in  particular  the  city  has  done  practically  noth- 
ing to  cooperate.  Again,  public  understanding  and  cooperation 
are  of  the  greatest  importance. 

In  housing  there  has  grown  up  in  New  York  city  a  set  of 
conditions  practically  unique ;   the  five  and  six-story  tenement 

(656) 


No.  4]  CITY-PLANNING  IN  NEW  YORK  CITY  183 

covering  seventy  per  cent  of  a  lot  one  hundred  feet  deep  is 
almost  exclusively  a  New  York  problem.  Many  attempts  have 
been  made  to  solve  this,  most  important  of  which  was  the  work 
of  the  tenement-house  committee,  resulting  in  the  tenement- 
house  law  adopted  about  ten  years  ago.  This  law,  while  far 
from  ideal,  was  a  splendid  achievement  under  the  conditions 
then  existing  and  it  has  vastly  bettered  conditions.  On  the 
island  of  Manhattan,  further  improvement  of  housing  conditions 
is  extremely  difficult ;  already  there  are  large  sections  of  the 
Bronx  and  Brooklyn  to  which  the  same  statement  applies; 
attention  should  be  concentrated  on  the  areas  as  yet  uncon- 
gested.  A  popular  appreciation  of  the  evils  of  congestion  is  of 
the  greatest  importance.  Once  the  matter  is  understood  it  will 
be  much  easier  to  bring  the  public  to  cooperate  in  demanding 
a  solution  of  the  housing  problem  by  scattering  the  dwellings 
of  the  people  over  a  larger  area  with  a  correspondingly  de- 
creased density  per  acre.  Obviously  people  must  live  within 
easy  walking  distance  of  their  work  or  else  the  means  of  transit 
between  the  places  where  they  work  and  those  where  they  live 
must  be  quick,  cheap,  safe  and  comfortable.  As  transit  is  fast 
reaching  its  efficient  limit,  it  remains  to  concentrate  on  bringing 
the  work  out  to  the  people ;  this  means  offering  inducements  in 
the  way  of  good  waterfront  and  freight-handling  facilities  in  the 
outlying  districts.  A  general  provision  of  such  facilities  can  be 
secured  only  by  an  intelligent  and  general  popular  demand. 

Together  with  this  problem  of  housing  comes  that  of  markets, 
schools,  libraries,  gymnasiums  and  baths.  Popular  interest  and 
demand  has  brought  about  a  wise  and  fairly  adequate  disposition 
of  schools  and  libraries;  the  public  has  not  yet  awakened  to 
the  corresponding  necessity  for  a  proper  distribution  of  markets, 
baths,  and  gymnasiums.  A  limited  number  of  baths  and 
gymnasiums  exist  in  Manhattan ;  the  other  boroughs  are  suffer- 
ing badly  from  the  lack  of  them ;  only  in  the  Bronx  has  the 
question  of  markets  been  agitated  to  any  extent. 

Civic  centers  as  formally  designed  groups  do  not  exist  in 
New  York.  Within  the  last  few  years,  however,  the  question  of 
civic  centers  has  been  strongly  agitated.  This  has  resulted,  in 
Manhattan,  in  the  acceptance  of  a  scheme  for  a  civic  center 

(657) 


1 84  ORGANIZAIION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK  [Vol.  II 

about  the  present  city  hall.  With  a  view  to  unifying  the 
scheme,  however,  the  location  of  the  new  municipal  building  is 
most  unfortunate.  An  attempt  to  unify  the  present  Brooklyn 
system  about  the  Borough  Hall  is  also  a  distinct  step  in 
advance ;  as  is  also  the  recent  suggestion  for  a  civic  group  in 
connection  with  the  present  Borough  Hall  in  Richmond.  In 
Columbia  University,  with  its  surrounding  educational  buildings, 
we  have  a  real  educational  center.  Aside  from  these  groups, 
however,  the  gain  in  efficiency  and  beauty  wherever  civic  build- 
ings are  grouped  can  be  seen  from  many  examples  both  in  this 
country  and  abroad.  It  is  desirable  that  the  public  should  be- 
come acquainted  with  these  facts  so  that  they  can  demand 
results  along  these  lines. 

In  the  various  features  of  water  supply,  sewage  disposal, 
garbage  and  refuse  collecting,  and  street  cleaning.  New  York 
compares  well  with  other  cities,  but  except  in  the  matter  of 
water  supply  it  has  many  possibilities  of  improvement.  The 
public  in  general  is  indifferent.  While  this  indifference  remains, 
improvement  is  not  likely  to  progress  much  more  rapidly  than 
it  now  does ;  and  yet  new  problems  are  arising  due  to  the  very 
vastness  of  the  undertakings  in  New  York  which  imperatively 
demand  radical  changes,  particularly  in  sewage  disposal. 

In  the  details  of  the  architectural  and  landscape  settings  of 
the  streets,  parks,  and  open  places,  the  city  is  making  good 
progress,  particularly  in  its  street  lighting  and  street  signposts ; 
but  in  the  use  of  street  trees,  in  the  decorative  handling  of 
street  signs,  and  in  the  use  of  other  such  accessories  as  letter 
boxes,  hydrants,  statues,  public  comfort  stations,  subway 
entrances,  elevated  structures  and  water-troughs  there  is  much 
room  for  improvement.  Here  again  popular  demand  is  needed. 
In  its  bridges  and  approaches  the  city  has  been  reasonably 
fortunate.  The  existence  of  the  Municipal  Art  Commission 
has  helped  materially  toward  getting  good  results  in  all  these 
public  structures,  but  owing  to  lack  of  popular  support  the  work 
of  the  commission  has  been  far  more  difficult  than  it  should  be. 

In  methods  of  taxation  and  assessment  with  a  view  to  carry- 
ing out  public  improvements  New  York  city  compares  favorably 
with  other  communities  both  here  and  abroad.     It  is  noteworthy 

(658) 


No.  4]  CITY-PLANNING  IN  NEW  YORK  CITY  185 

in  this  connection  that  a  committee  of  the  board  of  estimate  and 
apportionment  is  considering  the  question  of  new  sources  of 
revenue  for  the  city.  The  separating  of  assessments  on  land 
and  on  improvements,  the  annual  or  biennial  re-assessment  of 
property  and  the  assessment  of  a  betterment  tax  on  the  im- 
mediate abutters  on  new  improvements  are  changes  of  great  value 
to  the  city.  The  methods  of  taxation  and  the  restrictions  on 
the  use  of  land  in  other  cities,  however,  should  be  seriously 
considered  here :  such  are  the  unearned-increment  tax,  excess- 
condemnation  laws,  zoning,  districting,  regulating  the  height 
and  character  of  buildings. 

Interest  in  city  planning  in  general  in  New  York  has  been 
of  slow  growth,  particularly  as  compared  with  other  cities  of  the 
country.  The  Pendleton  commission  appointed  by  the  Mayor 
about  ten  years  ago  handed  in  an  elaborate  report  dealing 
principally  with  the  creation  of  new  diagonal  avenues  in  Man- 
hattan and  Brooklyn,  the  improvement  of  the  bridge  approaches, 
the  designing  of  civic  centers  and  the  extension  of  the  park 
system.  Considering  the  state  of  the  science  of  city-planning 
at  that  time,  their  reports  compared  very  favorably  with  those 
of  other  cities.  Very  few  of  their  suggestions  have  been 
carried  into  effect,  however,  because  few  of  them  were  based  on 
a  scientific  analysis  of  prevailing  conditions.  In  other  words, 
the  modern  business  man,  with  his  common-sense  ideas  of 
efficiency,  found  these  plans  to  be  impractical. 

More  recently,  the  Fifth  Avenue  Association  in  Manhattan 
and  the  Brooklyn  city-planning  committee  have  been  conduct- 
ing an  active  campaign  toward  civic  improvement,  particularly 
along  the  line  of  the  *'  City  Beautiful." 

The  Municipal  Art  Commission,  founded  and  backed  by  the 
Municipal  Art  Society,  has  had  a  marked  effect  upon  the 
standards  of  civic  architecture.  The  Mayor's  Congestion  Com- 
mission of  1 9 10  and  191 1,  for  whose  establishment  the  New 
York  Congestion  Committee  may  claim  credit,  has  accomplished 
a  great  work  in  giving  publicity  to  the  economic  and  social  evils 
occasioned  by  overcrowding  in  New  York  City ;  it  has  done 
much  toward  arousing  the  general  public  and  the  city  officials 
to  a  feeling  of  social  responsibility,  particularly  in  civic  matters. 

(659) 


1 86  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.11 

As  a  result  of  all  these  movements  there  has  been  a  growing 
demand  of  late  for  a  city-planning  commission  for  the  whole  of 
New  York  city,  similar  in  functions  and  powers  to  those  existing 
in  other  cities.  Opposition  on  the  part  of  the  various  borough 
presidents  who  have  been  afraid  that  the  creation  of  such  a 
commission  would  deprive  them  of  some  of  their  jealously 
guarded  prerogatives  has  prevented  this  matter  from  coming 
to  a  head. 

There  is  a  vital  need  of  such  a  commission ;  the  problems 
which  confront  New  York  city  are  becoming  more  and  more 
involved  every  day;  each  of  the  city  departments  is  going 
ahead  and  trying  to  solve  its  individual  problems  as  best  it 
knows  how.  Even  where  a  favorable  disposition  exists,  it  is 
extremely  difficult  for  any  one  department  to  cooperate  with 
the  others ;  very  few  of  the  department  heads  have  the  time, 
money,  or  breadth  of  vision  to  attempt  to  solve  their  problems 
in  relation  to  the  needs  of  the  city  as  a  whole.  The  suggestions 
that  are  being  propounded  now  by  the  dock  department,  ad- 
mirable as  they  are  in  themselves,  may  be  distinctly  detrimental 
to  the  best  interests  of  the  city  as  a  whole,  in  running  counter 
to  its  needs  from  the  standpoints  of  housing,  recreation,  transit 
or  manufacturing.  Plans  now  being  proposed  for  transit  im- 
provement may  run  counter  to  the  best  interests  of  the  city  in 
its  commercial,  manufacturing  and  housing  development.  It  is 
imperative  to-day  that  a  commission  be  appointed  to  correlate 
and  unify  all  these  different  phases  of  the  city's  development. 
Such  a  commission  should  consist  of  men  representing  all  that 
is  best  in  breadth  of  vision,  variety  of  point  of  view  and  practical 
common  sense — men   in  whom  the  public  can  have  confidence. 

Such  a  commission  will  be  secured  in  only  one  way,  and  that 
is  by  educating  the  public  to  the  needs  of  city-planning  in  its 
broadest  sense,  and  thus  creating  an  irresistible  demand  for 
action.  This  education  will  come  about  only  by  the  coopera- 
tion of  all  the  civic,  social,  esthetic,  legal,  political  and  religious 
bodies  of  the  city.  It  means  that  in  all  such  associations, 
societies,  clubs  or  other  groups,  active  committees  should  be 
formed  to  work  continuously,  in  season  and  out,  to  spread  the 
propaganda  of  city  planning.    This  can  be  done  by  circularizing, 

(660) 


No.  4]  CITY-PLANNING  IN  NE  W  YORK  CITY  1 8  7 

lectures,  exhibitions,  and  personal  work.  Each  body  may 
emphasize  that  phase  of  the  general  subject  which  more  par- 
ticularly affects  its  interests,  but  in  every  case  the  relation  of 
this  particular  phase  to  all  the  other  aspects  of  the  subject 
should  be  kept  constantly  in  mind. 

City-planning  as  a  subject  is  becoming  of  greater  importance 
every  year.  Within  a  comparatively  short  time,  it  is  going  to 
be  one  of  the  most  important  questions  before  the  public.  It 
affects  all  sides  of  life.  It  affects  vitally  every  man,  woman 
and  child.  It  is  the  part  of  far-sighted  wisdom  to  take  up  the 
subject  of  city-planning  with  promptness  and  zeal. 

(661) 


HOUSING  NEEDS  ^ 

LAWRENCE  VEILLER 
Director,  New  York  Tenement  House  Committee 

NEW  YORK  has  devoted  more  effort  to  housing  reform 
than  any  other  city  in  America;  notwithstanding  this, 
its  needs  to-day  are  greater  than  those  of  any  other 
American  city.  That  is  due  to  the  magnitude  of  the  problem ; 
for  New  York  has  over  100,000  separate  tenement  houses, 
whereas  in  most  American  cities  the  tenement  house  is  the 
exception  rather  than  the  rule.  The  outlook  in  the  city  is  dis- 
tinctly encouraging.  The  present-day  tenement  house,  built 
under  the  existing  law,  is  the  best  type  of  structure  in  the  city 
of  New  York.  In  fact  it  is  the  only  kind  of  building  except 
theaters  which  has  the  safeguards  that  we  have  been  taught  to 
believe  essential  for  the  preservation  of  life,  health  and  morality. 
The  one-family  house  has  not  these  safeguards,  nor  has  the 
two-family  house.  The  Asch  building  fire  called  attention  forci- 
bly to  the  fact  that  lofts,  factories  and  office  buildings  lack  these 
safeguards.  The  tenement  house  as  built  to-day  comes  nearest 
of  any  building  to  being  properly  protected,  but  it  is  still  very 
inadequate  in  many  particulars. 

From  the  ideal  point  of  view  New  York's  greatest  housing 
need  is  a  thorough  revision  of  the  tenement-house  law.  That 
is  a  difficult  thing  to  bring  about.  It  would  be  advantageous  if 
we  could  materially  increase  the  minimum  width  of  courts,  not 
the  inner  court,  24  feet  wide,  but  the  narrower  one,  only  six 
feet  and  six  inches.  Similarly,  it  is  highly  desirable  to  increase 
the  size  of  the  back  yard  to  allow  more  light  at  the  rear  of  the 
building ;  but  it  is  practically  impossible  to  do  it  by  law.  Un- 
less we  wait  until  the  time  is  ripe,  changes  in  the  law  are  likely 
to  mean  not  progress,  but  retrogression.  The  legislative  game 
is  a  dangerous  one. 

^  Read  at  the  meeting  of  the  Academy  of  Political  Science,  April  18,  1912. 

(662) 


HOUSING  NEEDS  1 89 

The  next  need  is  the  regulation  of  houses  other  than  tene- 
ments. A  dark  inner  bedroom  in  a  two-family  house  is  just  as 
dangerous  from  the  point  of  view  of  tuberculosis  as  one  in  a 
three  or  four-family  house.  The  two-family  houses  which  are 
building  in  the  outskirts  of  our  city  are  practically  unregulated. 
They  may  have  no  yards,  no  windows,  no  toilet  facilities  and  no 
running  water ;  rooms  may  be  as  small  as  the  builder  wishes  to 
make  them,  and  absolutely  dark ;  of  all  the  safeguards  thrown 
around  the  tenement  dweller,  none  is  provided  in  the  two  or 
one-family  house.  In  many  of  our  progressive  western  cities, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  housing  laws  apply  to  the  one  and  two- 
family  houses,  and  the  same  requirement  should  be  made  in 
Greater  New  York.  The  great  field  of  building  operations  of 
residence  building  is  in  Queens  and  in  the  Bronx.  This  is  often 
forgotten  by  residents  of  Manhattan  ;  actually  more  theaters  than 
private  residences  were  built  in  the  borough  of  Manhattan  last 
year.  The  far-sighted  student,  however,  will  look  to  the  future 
of  the  outlying  boroughs. 

Much  can  be  done  in  improving  the  enforcement  of  the  ten- 
ement house  law,  by  cooperation  with  the  tenement-house 
department,  which  is  doing  admirable  work.  It  is  important  to 
find  out  the  facts  and  get  at  the  view  of  the  public  official,  to 
see  the  limitations  under  which  he  is  working,  and  give  him  due 
credit  for  the  good  work  he  has  done  as  well  as  to  hold  him 
responsible  for  poor  work. 

Another  housing  need  is  the  education  of  tenants.  The 
great  mass  of  tenement-house  dwellers  in  New  York  cit>^  need 
to  be  taught  how  to  live.  A  large  part  of  the  housing  evils  in 
American  cities  are  due  to  the  people  themselves,  to  their 
ignorance,  their  lack  of  leisure  time  and  their  undue  hours  of 
labor.  These  all  make  it  easy  to  fall  into  bad  habits  of  living. 
Similarly  the  landlords  and  builders  ought  to  be  educated. 
That  is  a  much  more  difficult  task  than  the  education  of  tenants, 
and  yet  it  is  not  a  hopeless  one.  The  height  of  buildings  ought 
to  be  regulated,  and  especially  the  erection  of  high  buildings 
ought  to  be  checked  in  the  outlying  districts  of  the  city.  There 
are  large  stretches  in  Queens  and  Richmond  and  the  Bronx, 
nothing  more  than  farm  land,  amid  which  five  and  six-story 

(663) 


190  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK 

tenement  houses  are  going  up.  That  should  be  restricted  by 
law.  It  is  serious  not  only  for  tenants  in  the  outlying  districts, 
but  even  for  the  business  sections  of  the  city.  People  in  gen- 
eral are  beginning  to  realize  that  unregulated  building  is  not  a 
wise  thing  for  them,  for  their  investment  or  for  the  community. 

New  York  is  doing  little  about  city-planning.  Many  of  the 
housing  evils  in  this  city  have  been  due  to  the  lot  lOO  feet  deep, 
no  matter  what  its  width.  Yet  we  are  cutting  up  farm  land  and 
acreage  to-day  and  making  it  into  lots  20  feet  by  120  and  100 
feet.  That  is  happening  all  over  America,  and  it  is  preparing 
trouble  for  future  generations.  It  could  all  be  obviated  by  a 
wise  study  of  the  possibilities  of  the  small  lot  of  shallow  depth, 
and  sometimes  of  narrow  width. 

As  to  room  overcrowding,  no  city  in  America  has  ever  done 
anything.  Some  persons  believe  that  it  affects  this  community 
more  than  any  other  evil,  but  we  have  no  data  to  warrant  any 
definite  conclusion. 

Notwithstanding  all  these  needs  New  York  is  strongly  to  be 
commended  for  having  done  so  much.  She  has  done  more  in 
the  last  ten  years  in  the  cause  of  housing  reform  than  any  other 
city  in  the  world  has  done  in  the  same  length  of  time,  and  more 
than  any  other  American  city  is  doing  to-day. 

(664) 


THE  PROTECTION  OF  FACTORY  WORKERS' 

GEORGE   M.    PRICE,    M.    D. 
State  Factory  Investigating  Commission 

THE  interpretation  of  the  term  *'  protection  of  factory 
workers "  has  undergone  great  changes  since  first  the 
need  of  such  protection  became  evident.  It  is  in- 
teresting to  trace  the  various  stages  in  the  evolution  of  this 
idea  from  its  birth  until  the  present  time. 

The  first  theoretical  impulse  was  given  by  the  epoch-making 
treatise  of  Rammazzini  On  the  Diseases  of  the  ArtizanSy  pub- 
lished at  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century  and  translated  into 
EngHsh  in  1705.  In  this  book  we  first  find  a  description  of 
various  diseases  of  occupations  and  a  statement  of  the  need  for 
the  protection  of  the  worker  from  these  diseases.  Forty  years 
later  appeared  the  work  of  Dr.  Pringle  On  the  Diseases  of  the 
Army,  followed  in  1753  by  Dr.  Lind's  On  the  Means  of  Pre- 
serving the  Health  of  the  Seamen  and  by  Dr.  Blane's  Observa- 
tions on  the  Diseases  of  the  Seamen,  published  in  1785. 

Almost  simultaneously  with  the  birth  of  the  modern  factory 
system  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century  came  philan- 
thropic efforts  to  protect  workers  from  the  abuses  of  this 
system.  The  agitations  of  Hanway,  Dr.  Percival,  Dr.  Ferriar, 
and  a  host  of  others, — the  forefathers  of  the  present  child-labor 
committees,  so  to  speak,  bore  fruit  in  the  enactment  in  1802  of 
the  first  factory  act  protecting  the  health  of  children  working 
in  cotton  factories.  The  history  of  the  progress  of  labor  legis- 
lation and  of  enactments  for  the  protection  of  factory  workers 
since  1802  is  replete  with  interest,  but  cannot  be  discussed 
here.  Beginning  with  the  protection  of  pauper  child-appren- 
tices in  cotton  factories,  protection  has  gradually  been  ex- 
tended until  it  now  comprehends  various  conditions  of  the  life 
and  labor  of  the  whole  working  class. 

^  Read  at  the  meeting  of  the  Academy  of  Political  Science,  April  i8,  1912. 

(665) 


192  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.  II 

It  is  interesting  to  analyze  the  protection  of  factory  workers 
as  it  is  found  at  present  in  civilized  countries.  The  measures 
fall  broadly  into  five  classes  which  may  be  sub-divided  as 
follows : 

1.  The  Worker 

(a)  Age. 

Limitation,  restriction  and  prohibition  of  child  work. 

(b)  Sex. 

Limitation,  restriction  and  prohibition  of  woman's 
work. 

(c)  Industrial  education. 

(d)  Vocational  guidance. 

2.  Working  Conditions 

(a)  Wages. 

(b)  Hours  of  labor. 

(c)  Conditions  of  labor. 

3.  The  Workshop 

(a)  Construction. 

(b)  Fire  protection. 

(c)  Light  and  illumination. 

(d)  Ventilation. 

(e)  Sanitary  care. 

(f)  Sanitary  comforts. 

4.  Dangers  of  Occupation 

(a)  Safeguarding  of  machinery. 

(b)  Dusty  trades. 

(c)  Industrial  poisons,  gases  and  fumes. 

(d)  Infectious  materials  and  extra-hazardous  labor. 

5.  Social  Protection 

(a)  Right  of  labor  organization. 

(b)  Housing  of  the  working  classes. 

(c)  Prevention  of  accident;  accident  insurance. 

(d)  Prevention    of    unemployment;     unemployment    in- 

surance. 

(e)  Prevention  of  sickness;  sickness  insurance. 

(f)  Prevention  of  excessive  industrial  mortality;  industrial 
mortality  insurance. 

(666) 


No.  4]  PROTECTION  OF  FACTORY  WORKERS  193 

The  agencies  for  the  protection  of  factory  workers  are  many 
and  various.  These  agencies  rarely  take  in  the  whole  range  of 
the  work,  but  limit  themselves  to  one  or  more  of  the  divisions 
of  labor  protection  enumerated  above.  These  several  agencies 
can  be  classified  as  follows : 

(i)   Philanthropic  organizations. 

(2)  Employers. 

(3)  Labor  organizations. 

(4)  The  state. 

(5)  The  industry. 

( 1 )  The  number  of  philanthropic  organizations  started  from 
time  to  time  with  the  purpose  of  agitating  for  the  protection  of 
factory  workers  is  large.  As  already  mentioned,  the  rise  of  the 
humanitarian  spirit  dates  far  back  to  the  end  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  As  a  rule  the  specific  phases  of  protection  which 
philanthropic  bodies  take  up  are  child  labor  and  woman's  work. 

(2)  As  far  as  the  protection  of  workers  by  employers 
themselves  is  concerned,  since  the  time  of  Robert  Owen  there 
have  been  a  large  number  of  enlightened  and  liberal  employers 
who  have  endeavored  to  introduce  better  conditions  into  their 
industrial  establishments  and  to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  the 
workers  in  their  employ.  In  most  cases  this  protection  has 
been  in  the  form  of  improved  sanitary  conditions  of  factories, 
and  in  certain  limitations  of  hours  of  labor. 

(3)  The  protection  of  factory  workers  by  labor  organizations 
has  been  mostly  in  the  increase  of  wages  and  in  the  lessening  of 
the  hours  of  labor. 

(4)  The  protection  which  factory  workers  receive  from  the 
state  is  usually  a  result,  on  the  one  hand,  of  the  agitation  of 
philanthropic  bodies,  and  on  the  other  hand,  of  the  increasing 
demands  of  labor  organizations,  which  are  often  endorsed  by 
enlightened  employers. 

The  forms  of  protection  by  the  state  are  many  and  embody 
practically  all  the  measures  enumerated  above.  Much  pressure 
must  be  brought  upon  legislative  bodies  and  much  agitation 
must  be  carried  on  before  the  state  exerts  its  powers.  The 
protection  of  factory  workers  depends  naturally  upon  the  defi- 
niteness  and  lucidity  of  the  laws,  and  upon  the  creation  of 
proper  and  intelligent  organizations  for  enforcing  them. 

(667) 


194  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK 

( 5 )  The  protection  of  the  workers  by  the  industry  seems  to 
be  an  ideal  method,  but  is  practical  only  when  the  components 
of  the  industry — the  employers,  the  employes  and  the  con- 
suming public — are  educated  to  a  point  where  their  interests 
may  be  mutually  combined  and  protected  by  one  another. 
This  is  really  an  intelligent  cooperation  of  the  three  principal 
partners  in  an  industry,  and  would  afford  the  best  protection  for 
the  employes  and  the  industry,  especially  if  such  protection 
were  conducted  with  the  cooperation  of  the  state. 

I  wish  in  no  wise  to  belittle  the  efforts  and  the  work  of  any 
institutions  or  organizations  for  the  protection  of  factory  workers, 
but  it  seems  to  me  that  the  time  has  arrived  when  such  pro- 
tection is  largely  to  be  entrusted  to  the  industry  itself,  working 
cooperatively  with  the  other  legitimate  protective  agencies. 

My  suggestions,  therefore,  to  this  end  are : 

To  form  a  closer  cooperation  between  the  various  agencies 
for  the  protection  of  workers,  including  a  centralization  and 
unification  of  philanthropic  bodies  and  their  cooperation  with 
labor  organizations  and  industrial  societies. 

To  compel  industrial  employers  to  be  responsible,  in  coopera- 
tion with  the  state,  for  the  protection  of  their  workers. 

Such  a  general  concentration  of  forces  on  the  improvement 
of  industrial  conditions  would  inevitably  result  in  a  more  pro- 
gressive system  of  protection  for  workers  than  we  now  have. 

(668) 


THE  EDUCATION  OF  MOTHERS  AND  THE  SAVING 
OF  BABIES^ 

PHILIP   VAN   INGEN,    M.    D. 
Medical  Director,  New  York  Milk  Committee 

THE  subject  of  infant  mortality  is  too  well  known  to  you 
all  to  require  many  words  from  me.  I  wish  merely  to 
emphasize  one  or  two  facts  which  have  a  direct  bearing 
on  my  subject.  In  a  general  way  25^  of  the  deaths  of  children 
under  one  year  of  age  belong  to  that  class  vaguely  called  *'  wast- 
ing diseases  "  by  the  English,  or  equally  vaguely  **  congenital 
debility  and  malnutrition  "  in  our  country.  To  this  latter  group 
belong  deaths  which  we  ascribe  to  marasmus,  prematurity,  con- 
genital debility,  and  so  forth,  thus  clothing  our  ignorance  in 
high-sounding  terms.  It  is  generally  admitted  that  we  can  or 
ought  to  be  able  to  prevent  a  large  number  of  these  deaths. 

The  keynote  of  modern  medical  and  philanthropic  effort  is 
prevention.  It  is  strange  how  slow  we  have  been  to  apply  pre- 
ventive methods  to  the  problem  of  infant  mortality.  Dispens- 
aries and  hospitals  do  a  much-needed  work,  but  comparatively 
speaking  their  preventive  work  is,  or  has  been  till  lately,  far 
from  efficient. 

The  causes  of  infant  mortality  are  many  and  varied.  Practi- 
cally all  the  great  social  questions  of  to-day  have  a  direct  relation 
to  the  problem,  but  in  the  last  analysis  the  great  underlying 
causes  are  poverty  and  ignorance.  Poverty  is  a  problem  we 
always  have.  Its  effect  upon  a  baby's  chance  to  live  will  per- 
haps always  exist  to  a  certain  extent ;  but  ignorance — and  many 
things  laid  to  poverty  really  should  be  laid  in  large  part  to 
ignorance — we  can  fight,  prevent  and  cure. 

In  Greater  New  York  during  the  last  few  years  the  idea  of 
instruction  has  been  coming  more  and  more  to  the  front,  and  it 
is  my  belief,  and  that  of  the  New  York  Milk  Committee,  whom 

1  Read  at  the  meeting  of  the  Academy  of  Political  Science,  April  18,  1912. 

(669) 


196  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK  [Vol.  II 

I  represent,  that  the  instruction  of  the  mother  is  our  most  valu- 
able weapon  in  preventing  the  waste  of  baby  lives.  It  is 
within  the  reach  of  all  organizations  or  groups  trying  to  better 
conditions  in  their  localities. 

The  New  York  Milk  Committee  was  one  of  a  number  of 
organizations  to  carry  on  last  summer  a  vigorous  campaign  of 
education  through  milk  stations.  The  keynote  of  the  campaign 
was  educational  prevention  of  sickness  through  contact  of  mother 
and  baby  with  nurse  and  physician.  The  necessity  of  maternal 
nursing  was  preached  faithfully.  Of  2,132  babies  under  obser- 
vation between  June  ist  and  September  15th,  32.4^  were 
breast-fed  throughout.  For  those  already  weaned,  or  for  whom 
breast  feeding  was  impossible,  pure  milk  was  provided — not 
already  prepared  for  the  baby,  but  whole  milk.  The  mother 
was  taught  at  her  home  by  the  nurse  to  prepare  the  milk  her- 
self according  to  the  physician's  orders.  So  important  did  we 
consider  this  instruction  that  milk  was  refused  unless  mothers 
attended  consultations  at  the  stations  regularly  and  carried  out 
instructions. 

But  though  this  work  was  a  most  valuable  one,  it  was  found 
when  we  tabulated  our  statistics  that  only  about  2  ^  of  our 
babies  were  under  two  months  of  age,  while  about  one-third  of 
all  baby  deaths  occur  in  the  first  month  of  life.  We  were  still 
more  impressed  with  the  fact  that  to  do  our  work  we  must  get 
at  those  babies.  I  say  still  more,  because  we  had  already  been 
working  on  these  lines.  Through  the  assistance  of  Dr.  Hart  of 
the  Russell  Sage  Foundation  we  had  been  able  to  put  one  nurse 
on  expectant  mother  work,  and  very  soon  had  to  add  another. 

The  figures  given  for  total  deaths  under  one  year  in  New 
York  city  for  191 1  were  15,030,  exclusive  of  still  births.  Still 
births  totaled  6,378.  In  France  statistics  show  that  pregnancy 
lasts  20  days  longer  among  women  keeping  moderately  quiet 
during  the  latter  months ;  that  children  of  women  carrying  on 
tiring  work  weigh  about  220  grams  (about  6  ounces)  less  than 
those  doing  moderate  work ;  that  the  children  of  women  keep- 
ing moderately  quiet  during  the  last  two  or  three  months  of 
pregnancy  weigh  300  grams  (about  9  ounces)  more  than  the 
children  of  those  who  work  up  to  the  last  minute.  In  other 
words,  the  babies  have  a  better  start  in  life. 

(670) 


No.  4]  THE  SAVING  OF  BABIES  197 

In  France  the  Mutiialite  Maternelle,  which  has  spread  all 
over  the  country,  gives  a  small  indemnity  to  pregnant  women, 
allowing  them  to  keep  quiet  during  the  last  weeks  of  pregnancy 
and  after  labor,  so  that  they  can  nurse  their  babies.  In  the 
Paris  society  in  1903,  12.8^  of  all  pregnancies  resulted  in  still 
births  or  miscarriages.  In  1904  there  were  only  7.5^;  in  1905, 
6.7^\  and  in  1906,  4.5^. 

In  the  summer  of  191 1  our  nurses  came  into  contact  with 
nearly  1,000  expectant  mothers.  Five  hundred  of  these  have 
since  been  confined.  Four  of  the  babies  were  still  born  and 
there  were  three  miscarriages.  Eight  babies  died  during  the 
first  month  of  life.  In  New  York  city  about  2^0  (or  4.7^)  of 
all  pregnancies  were  reported  as  ending  in  still  birth.  Early 
miscarriages  in  all  probability  would  not  be  included  in  these 
figures,  as  they  would  not  be  reported.  Among  our  500  cases, 
counting  both  still  births  and  miscarriages,  the  figure  is  1.4^. 
Roughly  speaking,  41.3  per  thousand  babies  born  in  New  York 
city  died  under  one  month  of  age;  among  our  babies,  16  per 
thousand. 

The  plan  already  being  carried  out,  and  very  shortly  to  be 
greatly  extended,  is  as  follows :  A  nurse  specially  trained  for 
her  work  is  detailed  to  a  definite  district.  Through  cooperation 
with  milk  stations,  dispensaries,  and  various  social  organizations, 
she  gets  into  touch  with  expectant  mothers.  The  effort  is  made 
to  do  so  as  early  in  pregnancy  as  possible.  The  family  condi- 
tions are  estimated  by  one  or  more  visits  to  the  home.  The 
advice  given  is  not  cut-and-dried,  but  is  adapted  to  the  in- 
dividual needs  and  possibilities  in  the  case.  If  it  is  a  first  baby, 
the  mother  is  urged  to  go  to  a  physician  or  hospital  for  ex- 
amination at  once.  She  is  told  to  keep  herself  in  the  best 
physical  condition,  is  advised  what  to  eat  and  what  not  to  eat; 
is  urged  to  avoid  hard  work  as  far  as  possible  during  late  preg- 
nancy. She  is  taught  the  necessity  for  the  baby,  and  the  saving 
to  herself,  of  nursing  it.  She  is  told  how  to  prepare  clothing 
for  the  baby.  She  is  urged  not  to  intrust  herself  to  an  ig- 
norant midwife,  but  to  go  to  a  physician  or  hospital.  She  is 
helped  to  secure  this  attention  by  information  and  advice.  She 
is  seen  by  the  nurse  every  week  or  ten  days  before  confine-- 

(671) 


198  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK 

ment — oftener  if  necessary ;  and  afterward  mother  and  baby  are 
kept  under  observation  for  a  month,  by  which  time  it  is  hoped 
they  will  be  able  to  come  under  the  care  of  a  physician  or  milk 
station. 

This  is  a  brief  outline  but  should  indicate  the  lines  along 
which  organizations  doing  neighborhood  or  settlement  work, 
visiting  nurses'  associations,  churches,  general  charitable  organi- 
zations and  milk  stations  can  work  to  prevent  the  waste  of 
infant  lives  and  the  misery  and  sorrow  going  therewith. 

Mr.  Alderman  Broadbent  of  Huddersfield,  who,  when  he  was 
mayor,  was  able  in  a  single  year  to  reduce  greatly  the  infant 
mortality  of  his  city  by  offering  to  every  baby  born  in  his  term 
of  office  one  pound  in  gold  on  its  first  birthday,  says :  "■  In 
motherhood,  properly  instructed  and  respected,  there  is  a 
potentiality  of  health  and  well-being  for  future  generations 
beyond  the  dreams  of  the  most  enthusiastic  sanitarian." 

This  is  an  effort,  not  only  to  save  baby  lives,  but  to  make 
babies  stronger  and  healthier  from  the  very  start,  to  make  them 
still  more  worth  saving.  It  should  therefore  appeal  to  the 
eugenist  as  well  as  to  those  who  consider  the  waste  of  life  a 
scandal  in  any  community. 

(672) 


THE  PROTECTION  AND  DISTRIBUTION  OF 
IMMIGRANTS 

KATE  HOLLADAY   CLAGHORN 
Registrar  of  Records,  Tenement  House  Department,  New  York 

THE  most  urgent  social  needs  of  New  York  city,  of  what- 
ever kind,  are  closely  bound  up  with  the  city's  immi- 
grant population.  This  port  receives  over  two-thirds  of 
the  total  immigration  to  the  country  each  year,  and  this  number 
makes  its  presence  felt,  either  in  transit  to  a  final  destination 
out  of  the  city,  or  through  residence,  temporary  or  permanent, 
in  the  city. 

The  mass  of  the  incoming  immigrants  are  poor,  illiterate, 
ignorant  of  the  country  and  its  ways,  and  afraid  of  new  ventures. 
Under  the  contract-labor  law,  moreover,  they  cannot  secure 
themselves  by  definite  offers  of  work  which  might  induce  many 
of  them  to  pass  at  once  through  the  city  to  the  interior. 

In  consequence  large  numbers  of  the  new  immigrants  linger 
in  the  city,  for  the  immediate  practical  advantages  they  gain. 
This  city,  in  particular,  both  because  of  and  in  spite  of  its 
crowded  population,  is  the  great  labor  market  for  the  unskilled, 
and  here  the  newly  arrived  immigrant  finds,  as  he  does  not  in 
smaller  towns,  others  of  his  own  kind,  who  speak  his  language 
and  know  his  ways,  while  they  have  also  become  used  to  the 
ways  of  the  new  country,  and  are  able  to  give  him  the  first 
lessons  he  needs  in  order  to  gain  a  foothold. 

Against  the  immediate  material  advantages  to  the  immigrant 
of  this  lingering  in  the  city,  however,  must  be  set  the  social  and 
moral  disadvantages  to  the  immigrant  himself,  and  to  the  city 
he  is  overfilling.  A  great  influx  of  poor  people  into  a  restricted 
area  means  bad  housing — overcrowding,  lack  of  light  and  ventila- 
tion, lack  of  privacy,  and  difficult  sanitation — conditions  which 
make  strongly  toward  physical  and  moral  degeneracy.  Condi- 
tions of  labor,  though  temporarily  favorable,  are  not  perma- 
nently so.     Though  employment  is   easily   gained   in  the   big 

(673) 


200  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.  II 

labor  market,  the  work  offered  is  of  a  low  grade  and  is  likely  to 
be  periodic  or  temporary,  while  the  wages  are  low.  This  tends 
to  keep  the  immigrant  a  shifting,  underpaid  laborer,  unable  to 
maintain  a  decent,  permanent  home. 

Moreover,  the  big  foreign  colony  of  a  city,  while  affording  a 
welcome  refuge  for  the  new  immigrant,  has  its  own  evil  influ- 
ences to  throw  about  him.  In  the  colony  swarm  sharpers  of 
every  description,  who  make  their  living  entirely  at  the  expense 
of  their  inexperienced  and  poverty-stricken  countrymen.  They 
meet  him  at  the  very  port  of  entry,  and  begin  the  fleecing  pro- 
cess by  outrageous  charges  for  transportation,  expressage  and 
hotel  accommodations.  Then  come  extravagant  charges  for 
procuring  the  immediate  job  on  which  his  life  depends.  Then 
"  bankers  "  come  to  the  front,  ready  to  absorb  the  little  savings 
as  they  begin  to  accumulate,  and  convert  to  their  own  use  what 
was  meant  for  the  helpless  family  at  home,  or  for  the  starting 
of  the  little  business  which  would  give  comparative  independ- 
ence.    And  so  on, — the  list  is  endless. 

As  a  result  of  all  these  conditions,  is  it  any  wonder  that  the 
city  has  to  struggle  under  a  considerable  burden  of  foreign 
dependence  and  delinquency? 

For  many  years,  private  agencies  have  been  at  work  to 
obviate  some  of  these  evils — to  protect  the  immigrant  from  ex- 
tortion on  his  first  arrival,  to  find  him  employment,  and  if 
possible  to  get  him  out  of  the  city.  Different  religious  bodies 
and  organizations  representing  different  nationalities  have 
maintained  immigrant  homes  and  employment  agencies  near 
the  landing  station,  and  have  had  accredited  agents  at  the 
station  to  protect  helpless  newcomers.  Some  of  these  societies 
in  their  turn  having  developed  abuses  of  their  own  have  been 
suppressed  by  the  immigration  authorities,  and  others  have 
taken  their  place. 

With  the  beginning  of  the  great  influx  of  Hebrews,  some 
twenty  years  ago,  special  work  in  their  behalf  was  started  by 
Jewish  philanthropists,  and  with  the  coming  of  the  Italians, 
means  of  protection  and  aid  were  provided  especially  for 
them.  The  most  notable  large  undertaking  for  the  benefit  of 
Hebrew  immigrants  is  that  supported  by  the  Baron  de  Hirsch 

(674) 


No.  4]  THE  PROTECTION  OF  IMMIGRANTS  20I 

Fund,  and  an  especially  interesting  feature  of  this  work  has 
been  that  of  inducing  emigration  from  the  crowded  cities  to 
agricultural  districts.  It  must  be  confessed  that  no  large  dimin- 
ution of  city  crowding  has  been  made  by  these  efforts ;  for,  ac- 
cording to  information  gathered  in  1909  by  the  Jewish  Agricul- 
tural and  Industrial  Aid  Society,  which  carries  on  the  agricultural 
work  of  the  Baron  de  Hirsch  Fund,  there  were  only  about  1 5,000 
Hebrews  in  rural  communities  all  over  the  United  States.  The 
number  of  farms  worked  by  Hebrews  was  said  to  be  2,701,  and 
the  number  of  farmers  was  3,040.  This  society,  realizing  that 
attempts  to  colonize  a  non-agricultural  people  on  cheap  un- 
improved land  cannot  be  expected  to  succeed,  has  recently 
made  provision  for  instruction  in  farming  on  an  experimental 
farm  established  in  Long  Island.  This  is  in  addition  to  the  well- 
known  farm  schools  in  New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania. 

As  far  as  the  experiment  in  agricultural  transplantation  has 
gone  with  the  Hebrew,  it  has  been  found  to  have  a  beneficial 
effect.  There  has  been  an  especial  improvement  in  physical 
health,  and  the  ownership  of  land  has  developed  independence, 
self-reliance  and  self-respect. 

A  more  promising  avenue  of  distribution  of  Hebrew  immi- 
grants, as  far  as  numbers  is  concerned,  is  that  along  industrial 
rather  than  agricultural  lines.  The  Industrial  Removal  Office 
has  been  engaged  for  the  past  eleven  years  in  finding  homes 
and  employment  outside  of  New  York  city  for  Hebrew  immi- 
grants and  their  families,  mainly  in  industrial  pursuits.  During 
that  period  they  have  established  58,415  persons  (of  whom 
about  30,000  were  wage-earners)  in  1,388  cities  and  towns, 
53,704  of  the  number  being  sent  out  by  the  New  York  office, 
and  4,711  by  the  Philadelphia  and  Boston  branches.  Of  those 
sent  out  from  New  York,  31,638,  or  nearly  60  ^,  went  to  the 
central  states,  14^  found  homes  in  the  Middle  Atlantic,  I3j(> 
in  the  western  and  10^  in  the  southern  states. 

The  report  of  this  society  observes  that  the  work  of  removal 
is  difficult,  owing  to  *'  the  prejudice  and  timidity  of  our  appli- 
cants regarding  the  unknown  lands  to  which  they  were  contem- 
plating removing."  Even  with  outside  aid  it  takes  the  immi- 
grant some  time  to  make  up  his  mind  to  move,  as  is  seen  from 

(675) 


202  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.11 

the  statement  in  the  report  that  of  the  persons  removed  in  191 1 
over  three-quarters  had  been  in  New  York  over  three  years.  It 
is  interesting  to  note  that  2 1  ^  of  the  wage-earners  distributed  in 
ten  years  of  activity  followed  the  needle  trades,  and  30  ^  had  no 
definite  trade.  This  last  group  included  peddlers.  It  is  also 
interesting  to  find  that  less  than  2  ^  of  the  removals  made  have 
turned  out  to  be  unsatisfactory  or  are  still  doubtful.  Nearly  all 
of  the  persons  removed  have  remained  and  succeeded  in  the 
places  to  which  they  were  originally  sent. 

An  organization  covering  the  field  of  immediate  protection 
for  arriving  Jewish  immigrants  is  the  Hebrew  Sheltering  and 
Immigrant  Aid  Society.  This  society  proposes  to  "  keep  track 
of  each  and  every  Jewish  immigrant  passing  through  the  port 
of  New  York  " — not  only  to  see  that  they  reach  their  destina- 
tion in  safety,  but  to  look  after  their  further  welfare  by  way  of 
helping  to  secure  employment  and  discouraging  settlement  in 
congested  cities.  This  society  has  found  it  comparatively  easy 
to  follow  up  the  Jewish  immigrants  whose  destination  is  outside 
of  New  York,  and  reports  that  *'  immigrants  in  the  interior  are  all 
self-supporting,  are  eager  to  learn  English,  and  bring  even  their 
babies  to  the  kindergarten."  But  much  more  difficulty  has  been 
experienced  in  keeping  in  touch  with  the  large  mass  who  settle 
down  in  the  city,  either  temporarily  or  permanently. 

A  strong  organization,  the  Society  for  Italian  Immigrants, 
enjoying  a  subvention  from  the  Italian  government  in  addition 
to  a  private  subscription  list,  does  a  similar  work  for  Italian 
immigrants.  This  society  meets  Italian  immigrants  at  the  pier, 
gives  escort  service  and  shelter,  finds  employment,  looks  after  the 
transmission  of  money,  and  in  short,  takes  the  place  of  '*  next 
friend"  to  the  newcomer  in  whatever  way  he  needs  it. 
During  the  year  191 1,  nearly  24,000  emigrants  and  immigrants 
were  escorted,  nearly  18,000  were  lodged  at  the  home  of  the 
society,  and  over  $28,000  of  the  immigrants'  money  was  cared 
for  or  transmitted. 

This  society  has  furthermore  taken  a  hand  in  the  very  neces- 
sary task  of  educating  the  illiterate  immigrant.  Under  its 
auspices,  the  first  schools  in  labor  camps  were  started  for 
instruction  in  English,  and  these  schools  have  afforded  not  only 

(676) 


No.  4]  THE  PROTECTION  OF  IMMIGRANTS  203 

this  necessary  first  step  to  good  citizenship,  but  a  useful  social 
diversion  to  lonely  men  shut  up  in  the  unnatural  surroundings 
of  a  temporary  camp. 

Of  especial  interest  are  the  society's  efforts  to  procure  work 
for  Italian  immigrants  and  to  assist  in  the  process  of  distribu- 
tion. This  society  is  now  the  principal  non-commercial  em- 
ployment exchange  for  Italians,  having  recently  taken  over  the 
work  of  a  labor  bureau  for  Italians  formerly  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Italian  government. 

During  the  past  year  3,493  immigrants  applied  for  work  at 
the  society's  bureau,  and  requests  for  1,425  laborers  were  made, 
but  only  528  laborers  were  actually  placed.  A  Hght  not  only 
upon  this  misfit,  but  upon  the  whole  question  of  the  agricultural 
distribution  of  immigrants  is  thrown  by  the  statement  in  the 
report  for  191 2  that 

requests  for  Italian  farm  hands  are  persistent,  but  not  of  the  kind  any 
capable  or  intelligent  Italian  farm  hand  would  accept.  Wages  and 
conditions  offered  are,  as  a  rule,  below  any  passable  living  standard, 
and  the  Italian  farmer  has  grown  to  understand  that  unless  a  contract 
or  a  clear  statement  is  offered  him ,  he  is  often  deprived  of  his  legiti- 
mate earnings  or  taken  advantage  of  in  some  way. 

Other  societies  and  individuals  in  the  past  have  made  efforts 
to  transplant  Italians  to  agricultural  regions,  but  the  net  result 
of  this  work  in  numbers  of  persons  settled  is  not  large.  Of  all 
the  Italian  working  men  now  in  the  country  only  a  httle  over 
6^  are  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits,  although  it  is  estimated 
that  over  60^  come  from  rural  districts  of  Italy,  where  practi- 
cally all  were  farmers  or  farm  laborers.  Throughout  the  coun- 
try, however,  are  found  agricultural  settlements  of  Italians,  many 
of  them  started  by  outside  aid,  ranging  from  groups  of  two  or 
three  households  to  three  hundred  and  fifty  households,  which 
are  prospering,  and  which  serve  as  nuclei  for  further  accretions. 

A  society  calling  itself  the  North  American  Civic  League  for 
Immigrants  was  started  in  1908  with  the  ambitious  purpose  of 
looking  after  all  the  immigrants  throughout  the  country,  and 
of  ''doing  all  things  which  will  result  in  making  immigrants 
into    efficient   Americans."     Its    program  includes    protection, 

(677) 


204  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.11 

education,  distribution  and  assimilation,  and  is  to  be  carried  out 
by  correlating  the  work  of  all  agencies  now  busy  among  immi- 
grants, rather  than  by  doing  direct  work  of  its  own. 

In  New  York,  the  league  has  organized  an  immigrant  guide 
and  transfer  system,  has  assisted  in  bringing  immigrant  children 
to  the  schools,  has  conducted  investigations,  and  has  made  a 
survey  of  the  New  York  laws  affecting  immigrants,  with  a  view 
to  the  enforcement,  repeal  and  amendment  of  such  laws.  It  is 
difficult,  however,  to  measure  the  actual  accomplishment  of  this 
league  in  any  very  definite  way,  as  its  reports  are  more  largely 
taken  up  with  the  evils  to  be  combated  than  with  results  of  the 
combat. 

It  must  be  plain  after  even  so  incomplete  a  sketch  as  the 
present  that  private  organizations  are  not  by  any  means  cover- 
ing the  field  of  protection  and  distribution,  though  their  activi- 
ties are  most  creditable  in  view  of  the  restricted  means  at  their 
disposal. 

It  would  seem  that  governmental  bodies,  with  their  greater 
resources  and  their  more  comprehensive  powers  of  control,  must 
be  invoked  to  attain  the  greater  accomplishment  desired.  This 
has  recently  been  done  by  the  creation  in  1910  of  a  new  bureau 
of  industries  and  immigration  in  the  state  department  of  labor, 
to  carry  on  for  New  York  state  the  same  big  tasks  with  which 
the  private  organizations  have  been  struggling.  Unfortunately, 
the  report  of  its  first  year's  work  seems  to  show  a  smaller 
record  of  accomplishment  than  the  same  year's  work  of  the 
stronger  private  bodies. 

One  reason  is  obvious.  Although  the  bureau  has  had  laid 
upon  it  a  multiplicity  of  mandatory  duties,  it  was  given,  as  its 
first  year's  appropriation,  less  than  $10,000,  an  amount  less  than 
one-third  of  the  annual  income  of  the  Society  for  Italian  Immi- 
grants. Another  reason  is  that  too  small  a  proportion  of  the 
bureau's  work  is  directly  administrative,  and  too  much  of  its 
time  has  been  taken  up  with  investigations  which  served  mainly 
to  reveal  conditions  of  abuse  already  familiar,  and  with  scatter- 
ing tasks  of  unofficial  cooperation,  the  results  of  which  cannot 
be  seen  or  measured. 

This    bureau    has    succeeded,   however,   in   securing    greater 

(678) 


No.  4]  THE  PROTECTION  OF  IMMIGRANTS  205 

safety  for  immigrants'  savings  through  the  better  regulation  of 
immigrant  banks,  has  brought  under  state  control  the  employ- 
ment agencies  dealing  chiefly  with  aliens,  has  registered  and 
inspected  homes  and  philanthropic  organizations  which  dis- 
tribute aliens,  and  has  secured  the  passage  of  an  immigrant 
lodging-place  law,  which  is  applicable  to  labor  camps  and  will 
assist  in  reducing  the  evils  which  flourish  in  such  communities. 

The  federal  government  itself  has  taken  a  hand  in  the  general 
work  through  its  newly-created  division  of  information  in  the 
bureau  of  immigration.  This  division  attempts  to  provide  the 
entering  immigrant  with  reliable  information  as  to  the  country 
and  its  resources,  which  will  help  him  to  find  his  way  to  the 
interior  of  the  country  and  secure  employment.  The  division 
was  organized  under  the  Immigration  Law  of  1907,  and  has 
done  a  creditable  amount  of  work  since  that  time.  In  191 1, 
over  30,000  applicants  received  information  for  themselves  and 
others,  representing  perhaps  over  100,000  people  helped  by  the 
division.  Of  the  applicants  for  that  year,  1,293  were  Hebrews, 
and  only  624  were  Italians,  while  1,629  were  Danes,  1,568  Nor- 
wegians, 1,882  Swedes,  5,148  Germans  and  5,211  Poles — the 
latter  all  peoples  who  naturally  take  to  agriculture,  and  all,  ex- 
cept the  Poles,  of  the  early  immigration.  During  the  year  this 
division  actually  distributed  5,176  immigrants,  of  whom  1,127 
were  Germans  and  i  ,044  were  Poles.  Only  5 1  Hebrews  and  5 1 
Italians  were  placed  by  this  means. 

It  seems  that  even  government  bodies  are  not  accomplishing 
a  great  deal  in  comparison  with  the  mass  of  immigrants  to  be 
dealt  with.  What  may  be  suggested  as  a  more  adequate  means 
for  meeting  the  situation  than  those  now  being  employed  ? 

Perhaps  the  surest  method  is  a  drastic  restriction  of  immigra- 
tion, so  that  we  shall  not  be  swamped  by  an  ever-rising  flood, 
while  endeavoring  to  cope  with  the  numbers  already  here.  In 
the  past  the  problem  seemed  simpler.  It  was  thought  that  with 
an  adequate  entrance  test,  excluding  undesirable  immigrants, 
and  with  the  great  demand  for  unskilled  labor  caused  by  our 
developing  industries,  the  immigrant  once  admitted  could  shift 
for  himself,  with  no  further  damage  to  himself  or  the  commu- 
nity than  slight  incidental  disturbances  arising  in  the  course  of 
adjustment. 

(679) 


206  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK 

We  have  come  to  see  that  adjustment  is  no  such  simple  mat- 
ter. The  administration  of  entrance  tests  is  a  more  or  less 
wholesale  affair,  and  is  the  work  of  a  day  or  an  hour  or  a 
minute,  perhaps,  for  each  immigrant.  The  work  of  protection 
and  distribution  after  the  immigrant  arrives,  on  the  other  hand, 
must  be  intensive  and  individual ;  it  must  extend  over  periods 
of  months  or  years. 

If  we  cannot  have  restriction  to  help  us  catch  up  with  our 
work,  a  measure  of  help  to  New  York  would  be  the  diversion  of 
immigration  by  government  regulation  of  some  sort,  to  other 
ports,  nearer  to  the  sparsely  settled  territory  where  immigrants 
are  desired.  In  default  of  federal  aid  along  this  line,  the  state 
and  the  city  may  help  by  taking  measures  to  distribute  indus- 
tries as  well  as  laborers.  It  has  been  shown  that  the  great 
attraction  of  the  city  to  the  immigrant  is  the  opportunity  for 
employment  it  offers.  New  York  is  not  only  a  great  trading 
center,  it  is  also  one  of  the  greatest  factory  cities  in  the  world, 
and  the  removal  of  a  considerable  proportion  of  the  factories 
from  crowded  centers  to  suburban  districts,  through  discrimi- 
nating taxation  or  otherwise,  would  mean  an  automatic  disper- 
sion of  our  foreign  working  population.  Other  means  are  the 
improvements  in  transportation  and  housing  that  we  need  for 
our  population  at  large,  and  finally,  of  course,  a  continued 
development  of  the  agencies  already  at  work,  both  public  and 
private. 

(680) 


CHARITABLE  RELIEF 

W.  FRANK    PERSONS 
Superintendent,  Charity  Organization  Society  of  the  City  of  New  York 

TO  all  thoughtful  persons  the  term  "charitable  relief" 
signifies  more  than  assistance  in  the  form  of  monetary- 
aid.  It  comprehends  also  the  great  variety  of  services, 
material  and  other,  which  are  bestowed  upon  needy  persons  by 
individuals  and  by  the  rapidly  increasing  number  of  agencies 
now  doing  practical,  personal  work  in  the  homes  of  the  poor. 

The  next  step  to  be  taken  in  the  administration  of  charitable 
relief,  as  thus  defined,  is  in  the  direction  of  securing  unity  and 
efficiency  in  such  social  service.  This  conclusion  becomes 
obvious  upon  a  study  of  the  present  situation  and  the  prevailing 
tendencies  in  charitable  endeavor. 

There  are  more  than  a  thousand  private  institutions  and 
societies  in  New  York  city  offering  charitable  relief  to  the  poor. 
During  the  past  five  years  there  has  been  a  remarkable  extension 
and  diversification  of  the  help  available  for  the  destitute  and 
suffering,  especially  in  the  sphere  of  pubhc  medical  service. 
About  twenty  social-service  departments  of  hospitals  and  dis- 
pensaries have  been  established.  It  is  their  purpose  to  put 
physicians  in  touch  with  home  conditions,  to  relate  patients  to 
other  agencies  whose  services  may  be  needed,  and  to  enable 
discharged  patients  to  re-establish  themselves  permanently  in 
the  industrial  world  without  the  extraordinary  strain  which  too 
often  occurs. 

There  is  now  complete  sanitary  supervision  of  tuberculosis. 
Hundreds  of  nurses  are  visiting  the  homes  of  those  patients  who 
do  not  employ  private  physicians.  These  nurses  do  not,  and 
cannot,  ignore  factors  affecting  the  health  and  welfare  of  other 
members  of  such  families  as  well  as  of  the  patients  themselves. 

There  are  hundreds  of  visiting  school  nurses.  Each  one 
realizes  that  the  child's  physical  defect,  which  it  is  her  business 
to  have  corrected,  is  frequently  a  symptom  of  unfavorable  home 

(68i) 


208  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK  [Vol.  II 

conditions.  These  may  require  not  only  her  attention  but  the 
services  of  one  or  of  several  special  agencies  to  assure  the 
continuing  health  of  the  child. 

The  teacher  nurses  and  milk-station  nurses,  who  in  growing 
numbers  are  rendering  increasingly  valuable  services  in  the 
homes  of  the  poor,  cannot  succeed  in  their  work  as  they  wish  to 
do  without  full  knowledge  of  the  needs  and  resources  of  each  of 
the  families  with  which  they  deal. 

There  is  certain  to  be  a  further  extension  of  social  service  in 
connection  with  medical  relief.  This  is  but  another  way  of 
saying  that  there  is  certain  to  be  a  wider  and  deeper  apprecia- 
tion of  the  necessity  of  considering  and  treating  the  needs  of  the 
whole  family,  even  when  the  illness  of  one  member  seems  to 
require  special  attention. 

This  reference  to  the  development  taking  place  in  the  work 
of  medical  agencies  is  but  an  illustration  of  the  growing  con- 
sciousness, spreading  widely  throughout  the  community,  that 
the  real  relief  of  need,  in  most  instances,  means  the  treatment 
of  a  family  problem.  The  whole  family  must  be  considered 
with  respect  to  the  conditions,  needs  and  possibilities  of  each  of 
its  members.  The  treatment  of  the  whole  problem  thus  pre- 
sented must  be  continued  until  self-dependence  becomes  possi- 
ble and  assured,  or  until  some  form  of  continuing  assistance  is 
provided.     Otherwise  results  worth  while  will  not  be  attained. 

In  striving  to  attain  such  results,  which  are  the  only  results 
worthy  the  ideals  of  present-day  charitable  relief,  the  agencies 
concerned  are  delving  deeper  into  the  essential  facts  of  their 
cases,  making  broader  plans,  holding  more  persistently  to  their 
purposes,  keeping  more  useful  records  and  developing  a  more 
cooperative  spirit.  They  are  drawing  closer  together  in  their 
work  with  particular  families.  They  are  uniting  to  attack,  in 
accord  with  a  common  plan,  the  problems  there  presented. 

It  is  generally  conceded  that  this  working  together  is  mutually 
helpful  and  that  it  makes  for  efficiency  and  economy.  That  it 
occurs  too  infrequently  is  due  largely  to  the  fact  that  there  is 
no  common,  ready  and  certain  means  of  information  as  to  all 
that  is  being  done  for  any  particular  family. 

It  seems  clear,  therefore,  that  the  next  step  to  be  taken  in 

(682) 


No.  4]  CHARITABLE  RELIEF  209 

the  organization  of  charitable  rehef  in  this  city  is  to  find  the 
means  and  the  method  by  which  such  information  may  be  made 
quickly  available  upon  inquiry — or  even  without  inquiry.  It  is 
entirely  practicable,  by  a  simple  device,  to  enable  each  of  the 
various  agencies  whose  work  may  at  any  time  be  focused  upon 
the  same  family  to  share  in  the  knowledge,  experience  and  plans 
of  the  others.  The  instrument  which  may  be  employed  for  this 
purpose  is  the  Confidential  Exchange  of  Information,  for  which 
there  is  now  in  this  city  a  most  pressing  need. 

The  Confidential  Exchange  of  Information  will  become  a 
central  bureau  of  registration  of  the  names  and  addresses  of  all 
the  families  under  care  of  those  agencies  which  make  use  of  it. 
For  each  of  these  families  there  will  be  a  card  on  which  will  be 
written  also  the  names  of  all  the  agencies  who  are,  or  have  been 
in  touch  with  the  family  and  who  have  records  or  available 
knowledge  concerning  it.  No  other  information  will  be  recorded 
save  that  which  is  necessary  to  assure  identification — as,  for 
instance,  the  names  and  ages  of  children,  and  the  ages  and 
occupations  of  other  members  of  the  family. 

It  is  perhaps  desirable  to  emphasize  the  confidential  character 
of  such  an  exchange  of  information.  The  number  of  names 
registered  in  New  York  city  would  in  a  short  time  become  very 
large.  A  consolidation  of  the  present  registration  bureaus  of 
the  Charity  Organization  Society,  the  Association  for  Improving 
the  Condition  of  the  Poor  and  the  United  Hebrew  Charities 
would  afford  an  initial  registration  of  nearly  three  hundred 
thousand  names.  Any  one  name  would  be  absolutely  lost  in 
such  a  vast  number  and  would  come  to  the  attention  only  of 
those  interested  persons  who  might  make  inquiry  concerning 
the  family.  Although  personal  interests  and  feelings  would 
thus  be  carefully  protected,  the  mass  of  registration  itself  would 
afford  many  social  data  of  value  in  determining  the  character, 
prevalence  and  causes  of  need,  and  in  planning  further  preven- 
tive and  constructive  effort.  The  extent  to  which  studies  for 
such  purposes  could  be  carried  would  be  limited  only  by  the 
time  and  money  available  to  keep  the  necessary  records.  The 
exchange  would  thus  become  the  means  of  a  general  public 
service.     Its  immediate  purpose,  however,  and  its  greatest  value 

(683) 


210  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK 

would  be  in  the  every-day  work  of  the  administration  of 
charitable  relief. 

Any  society  or  interested  individual  about  to  investigate  the 
needs  of  a  family  or  to  give  assistance  should  first  of  all  make 
inquiry  of  the  Confidential  Exchange  either  by  letter  or  by 
telephone,  preferably  the  latter.  Instantly  the  names  of  all 
other  agencies  already  acquainted  with  the  family  would  be- 
come known.  The  exchange  would,  in  turn,  at  once  notify 
each  of  these  agencies  of  the  new  inquiry.  Its  responsibility 
would  then  end,  and  it  would  lie  with  the  agencies  concerned  to 
confer,  to  share  their  information  and  their  plans,  and  to  make 
such  new  plans  as  the  occasion  might  require. 

The  Confidential  Exchange,  as  thus  conducted,  will  safeguard 
the  privacy  of  the  families  whose  names  are  registered,  by 
avoiding  duplication  of  investigation.  A  family  under  the 
continuing  and  sufficient  care  of  one  organization  will  be  pro- 
tected against  the  undesirable  and  unintentional  invasion  of  its 
home  by  another  society.  In  instances  where  cooperation  is 
desirable  the  use  of  the  exchange  will  afford  opportunity  for 
effective  team  work  by  the  various  agencies  whose  services  are 
required. 

There  need  be  no  unconscious  interference  by  one  society  or 
individual  with  the  success  of  plans  carefully  made  and  worked 
out  by  someone  else,  as  now  frequently  occurs.  The  families 
themselves  may  be  saved  from  the  confusion  and  distraction  of 
the  conflicting  plans  of  agencies  not  in  cooperation.  The 
various  agencies  in  the  community  will  surely  profit  by  a  saving 
of  time,  effort  and  money,  by  interchange  of  experiences  and 
by  closer  relationships. 

The  essential  purpose  and  most  valuable  service  of  the  Con- 
fidential Exchange,  however,  will  be  in  promoting  cooperation 
and  in  stimulating  thereby  the  development  of  thorough-going 
case  treatment.  Concerted  and  effective  action,  as  early  in  the 
history  of  the  family's  need  as  possible,  will  result  in  rehabilita- 
tion of  family  life  in  a  larger  proportion  of  cases.  This  is  the 
basis  of  our  hope  for  the  reduction  of  the  number  of  persons 
in  poverty,  and  for  the  development  of  preventive  measures  to 
eradicate  many  of  the  causes  which  now  bring  the  poor  into 

distress. 

(684) 


SOCIAL  WORK  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  SCHOOLS  ^ 

JOHN   MARTIN 
Member  Board  of  Education,  New  York  City 

WITH  all  modesty  it  may  be  asserted  that  New  York  city 
continues  to  lead  the  continent,  and  probably  the 
world,  in  the  social  use  of  the  buildings,  grounds,  and 
staff  of  the  school  system.  So  extensive  are  the  activities  of 
the  board  of  education  outside  of  purely  educational  work,  so 
generous  is  the  expenditure  on  recreation,  music,  dancing,  con- 
certs, lectures  and  the  like,  that  few  citizens,  even  in  New  York 
itself,  realize  what  a  wide  and  well-managed  social  work  is  con- 
ducted regularly  in  the  school  buildings  at  public  expense. 
Not  infrequently,  when  some  smaller  city  imitates  one  or  two 
of  New  York's  multiform  and  well-established  school  activities, 
— recreation  centers,  evening  lectures  for  adults,  mixed  dances 
or  the  like — the  experiment  is  proclaimed  throughout  the  land 
as  a  brand-new,  daringly  original  feat,  a  signal  discovery  of  a 
socialist  mayor  or  of  a  wonderfully  efficient  commission  govern- 
ment. 

In  the  winter  season  just  closed  the  recreation  centers  of 
Greater  New  York  have  been  attended  nightly,  six  times  a  week, 
from  October  to  May,  by  over  17,500  people.  Some  650  clubs 
— athletic,  literary,  social,  musical,  civic,  dramatic,  dancing  and 
parental — each  with  its  regular  organization,  have  found  in 
these  centers  a  comfortable  home,  teachers  to  advise  and  help, 
and  facilities  of  all  sorts.  Boys  and  girls  have  played  parlor 
games,  practised  gymastics  under  trained  instructors,  and  com- 
peted for  basket-ball  trophies.  Those  of  a  more  intellectual 
turn  have  attended  literary  clubs,  where  readings,  recitations, 
essays  and  debates  on  current  topics  have  filled  the  evening. 

^  Expanded  from  remarks  made  in  discussion  at  the  meeting  of  The  Academy  of 
Political  Science,  April  i8,  1912.  Reprinted  by  permission  from  The  Survey  of 
May  1 8th,  191 2. 

(685) 


212  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.  II 

Forty-one  centers  included  classes  in  vocal  and  instrumental 
music  in  which  forty  or  fifty  youths  and  maidens,  under  the 
guidance  of  a  competent  pianist,  have  sung  such  old  and  popu- 
lar airs  as  **  Way  Down  Upon  the  Suwanee  River  "  and  "  The  Star- 
spangled  Banner. "  Often,  to  vary  the  proceedings,  some  bud- 
ding Caruso  or  Sembrich  would  come  forward  with  characteris- 
tic musicianly  diffidence  to  warble  a  solo.  On  other  evenings  a 
cornet  or  a  violin  in  skilled  hands  would  make  the  rafters  ring. 
A  few  years  of  such  training  will  doubtless  make  the  citizens  of 
New  York  as  musical  as  those  of  any  German  city  and  will  open 
new  avenues  of  enjoyment  to  thousands. 

While  social  workers  have  been  lamenting  the  vicious  in- 
fluence of  dancing  halls,  the  board  of  education  has  deprived 
these  resorts  of  many  prospective  customers  by  conducting,  at 
fifteen  centers,  mixed  dancing  classes  under  proper  chaperon- 
age.  The  board  furnished  piano  music  and  often  the  clubs 
themselves  added  to  the  gaiety  by  bringing  cornets  and  violins. 
Good  music  with  jolly  and  modest  dances  was  encouraged. 
Little  effort  was  necessary  to  bar  the  grizzly  bear,  the  turkey 
trot  and  other  indecencies  which  have  invaded  high  society. 

Boy  Scouts  have  held  regular  meetings  for  drill  and  organiza- 
tion under  the  patronage  of  the  board  of  education,  to  which 
no  scheme  for  the  physical  or  moral  uplift  of  youngsters  or 
their  parents  seems  to  come  amiss.  Still  looking  for  new  ways 
to  be  of  service,  the  board  recently  granted  the  use  of  a  school 
building  to  a  special  committee  which  has  undertaken  to  organ- 
ize neighborhood  activities  and  to  correlate  the  lectures,  the 
people's  forums,  the  musical  evenings,  the  clubs  and  the  classes. 
It  expects  to  demonstrate  how  neighbors  of  all  ages  and  tastes 
may  be  accommodated  in  the  school  building  to  still  further 
advantage. 

Under  the  will  of  the  late  Joseph  Pulitzer  money  was  left  to 
supply  concerts  of  the  highest  quality,  free  of  charge,  to  the 
masses.  The  board  of  education  gladly  cooperated  by  grant- 
ing the  use  of  the  assembly  halls  and  organs  in  the  high  schools. 
Consequently  a  series  of  orchestral  and  vocal  performances,  not 
unfit  to  be  classed  with  the  Philharmonic  concerts,  has  been 
given  in  many  sections  of  the  city  to  very  large  audiences. 

(686) 


No.  4]     SOCIAL   WORK  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  SCHOOLS         213 

Even  the  moving-picture  theaters  have  not  gone  unchallenged. 
In  cooperation  with  a  committee  of  the  People's  Institute,  a 
series  of  educational  moving-picture  exhibitions  was  shown  to 
great  crowds  of  spectators.  Though  the  somewhat  overzealous 
interference  of  the  fire  department,  which  objected  to  the  form 
of  protection  provided  for  the  lanterns,  stopped  this  work  tem- 
porarily, no  doubt  it  will  be  resumed.  After  a  trial  of  Sunday 
evening  concerts  and  lectures  under  the  management  of  a  vol- 
untary committee,  the  free  use  of  some  high-school  assembly 
halls  was  recently  granted  for  two  series  of  meetings,  which 
promise  to  be  as  useful  to  the  non-church-goers  as  the  gather- 
ings which  have  made  Cooper  Union  famous.  A  new  departure 
has  been  made  by  allowing  a  collection  to  be  taken  toward  de- 
fraying expenses.  This  clears  the  audience  of  the  sense  of  being 
pauperized,  and,  by  reducing  the  cost  of  the  performances,  ren- 
ders extension  of  the  work  more  easy. 

Apart  from  the  recreation  centers  the  public  lecture  system 
continues  to  flourish.  About  a  million  adults  have  attended 
the  illustrated  lectures  in  science,  civics,  history,  travel,  music, 
art  and  literature.  All  were  given  by  competent  lecturers,  who 
were  bound  to  hold  their  audiences  by  the  interest  and  force  of 
their  remarks,  since,  unlike  college  students,  the  listeners  were 
free  to  show  their  displeasure  with  poor  work  by  quietly  with- 
drawing or  by  staying  away. 

Funds  have  been  provided  for  continuing,  though  not  for 
enlarging,  during  the  coming  summer,  the  social  activities  in 
the  vacation,  evening,  roof  and  open-air  playgrounds  for  chil- 
dren and  mothers  and  babies,  which  last  year  were  conspicu- 
ously successful  and  extensive.  In  191 1  no  fewer  than  832 
teachers  were  employed  in  aiding  125,500  daily  visitors  at  these 
various  play  centers  to  amuse  themselves  rationally  and  health- 
fully— a  regiment  of  school  soldiers  of  the  common  good  which 
no  other  city  could  duplicate.  Swings,  seesaws,  and  other  ap- 
paratus were  so  vigorously  used  that  it  is  doubtful  whether  they 
will  last  through  another  season.  Mothers  and  babies  sought 
the  quiet  and  shade  of  their  special  playgrounds.  On  the  roof 
playgrounds  bands  of  musicians  played  for  promenaders  and 
girl  dancers.     Gymnasts,  baseball  and  basket-ball  players  and 

(687) 


2 1 4  ORGANIZA  TION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK 

folk  dancers  practised  for  tournaments  or  simply  played  for  the 
fun  of  playing.  Nobody  can  measure  the  good  which  the  248 
playgrounds  did  for  the  hundreds  of  thousands  who  made  up 
the  aggregate  attendance  of  5,955,160. 

Altogether,  the  tale  of  the  social  uses  of  the  New  York 
schools  is  encouraging  and  creditable.  Much  remains  to  be 
done,  which  the  board  of  education  is  eager  to  do  as  soon  as 
the  keepers  of  Father  Knickerbocker's  purse  will  permit ;  but 
enough  has  been  accomplished  to  prove  the  beneficence  and 
wisdom  of  utilizing  to  the  full  the  buildings,  the  organization 
and  the  teaching  skill  of  the  school  system  for  social  enjoyment 
and  elevation. 

(688) 


COOPERATION  OF  THE  CHURCHES  IN  HOUSING 

REFORM ' 

JAMES   JENKINS,  JR. 
Director  of  the  Department  of  Social  Betterment,  Brookl)ni  Bureau  of  Charities 

ROM  our  experience  on  the  Tenement  House  Committee 


F 


I  believe  that  social  workers  have  not  sufficiently  appre- 
ciated the  importance  of  connecting  the  churches  with 
various  social  movements.  I  will  refer  briefly  to  a  campaign  in 
Brooklyn.  The  Tenement  House  Committee  took  up  a  specific 
piece  of  work,  the  elimination  of  the  dark  room,  realizing  that 
it  was  a  source  of  immorality  and  disease.  We  secured  the 
cooperation  of  the  churches,  giving  each  church  a  specific 
district.  In  each  district  they  were  to  see  if  the  tenements  had 
dark  rooms,  if  so  to  report  them,  also  to  follow  up  these  cases 
and  see  that  the  city  department  did  its  work.  The  result  was 
that  forty  thousand  dark  rooms  were  eliminated  in  Brooklyn. 
I  think  that  the  reason  the  churches  have  not  been  more  active 
in  social  work  is  because  they  do  not  generally  understand 
what  they  are  to  do.  Our  experience  showed  that  if  the  work 
was  explained  to  them  exactly  they  would  go  ahead  and  do  it. 

We  are  going  to  take  up  the  sanitary  conditions  next,  and 
we  wish  again  to  have  the  churches'  help.  In  this  case  they 
will  be  given  certain  districts  and  will  be  asked  to  do  the  same 
kind  of  work  that  they  did  before.  The  Brooklyn  Men  and 
Religion  Movement  suggested  that  there  should  be  a  committee 
in  each  church,  made  up  of  a  lawyer,  a  doctor  and  a  business 
man,  to  consider  all  legislative  measures  and  act  immediately 
in  supporting  or  opposing  them.  The  favorable  progress  of 
tenement  legislation  during  the  past  year  was  largely  due  to  its 
consistent  backing  in  New  York. 

As  a  forward  step  in  housing  reform,  would  it  not  be  a  good 
plan  to  form  tenants'  guilds  of  the  people  in  a  group  of  tene- 

'  Discussion  at  the  meeting  of  the  Academy  of  Political  Science,  April  i8,  1912. 

(689) 


2 1 6  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK 

ments,  a  block  or  a  street  or  a  small  section  of  a  district,  and 
try  to  interest  the  people  to  keep  their  houses  in  as  good  con- 
dition as  possible ;  also  to  teach  them  to  use  the  various  safety 
devices? 

I  wish  to  endorse  heartily  the  suggestion  made  by  Mr. 
Veiller  for  the  regulation  of  two-family  houses.  Many  of 
these  houses  have  as  bad  conditions  in  the  way  of  dark  rooms 
and  bad  plumbing  as  the  worst  tenements.  We  are  told  that 
room-overcrowding  is  unhealthy  and  increases  immorality,  but 
we  have  never  had  a  competent  investigation  to  show  the  exact 
results  of  this  congestion.  This  investigation  could  be  best 
made  by  night  inspection.  This  inspection  would  be  difficult 
but  it  could  be  accomplished  and  it  would  give  us  the  real 
facts  about  room-overcrowding. 

(690) 


RELIGIOUS  ORGANIZATIONS  AND  SOCIAL  WORK 

ADDRESSES  AT   THE   DINNER  OF   THE   ACADEMY  OF   POLITICAL 
SCIENCE,  THURSDAY  EVENING,  APRIL  1 8,   I912 

President  Lindsay  :  The  subject  for  this  evening's  discus- 
sion is  **  Religious  Organizations  and  Social  Work."  Religious 
organizations  from  the  beginning  have  been  engaged  in  social 
work,  and  social  workers  are  necessarily  engaged  in  religious 
work.  That  is  a  fundamental  point  to  keep  in  mind  in  a  dis- 
cussion like  this.  Monsignor  Mooney,  the  personal  representa- 
tive of  Cardinal  Farley,  will  open  our  discussion. 

Monsignor  Mooney:  As  the  chairman  has  stated,  my 
part  in  this  evening's  proceedings  is  to  represent  Cardinal  Farley, 
who  is  necessarily  absent.  If  he  were  here,  he  would  be  pleased 
to  signify  his  appreciation  of  the  courtesy  of  the  Academy  in 
extending  the  kind  invitation  to  him  to  be  their  guest,  as  well 
as  his  accord  with  the  general  purposes  and  aims  of  the  Acad- 
emy. This  is  what  he  charged  me  to  say  and  I  only  regret 
that  he  himself  is  not  here  to  say  it,  for  in  that  case,  it  is 
needless  to  remark,  it  would  be  much  better  said. 

Speaking  then  solely  for  myself,  I  would  aver  that  the  religi- 
ous body  to  which  I  belong  believes  that  she  will  attain  success 
in  social  work  by  cooperating  with  that  intelligent  and  broad- 
minded  public  with  whose  views  upon  the  ethical  side  of  social 
questions  she  in  general  agrees.  This  is  the  stand  which  she 
is  willing  and  ready  to  take.  To  the  church  it  is  most  gratify- 
ing to  feel  that  on  this  platform  she  can  come  to  agreement 
with  men  of  good-will,  and  men  who  are  sincere  in  their  desire 
for  the  right.  Yet  she  does  not  forget  that  her  primary  end 
in  the  world  is  not  really  the  solution  of  the  social  problems 
as  they  arise  from  time  to  time.  She  maintains  that  she  has  a 
special  mission  to  fulfil  at  all  times  and  that  to  carry  out  that 
mission  is  the  reason  of  her  existence.  That  mission  indeed 
does   not    have   regard   primarily  to   social  problems,  yet  the 

(691) 


2i8  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.11 

church  must  help  solve  social  problems,  and  she  rejoices  that  in 
this  work  she  is  able  to  join  hands  with  all  men  who  seek  the 
amelioration  of  the  race,  and  especially  men  who  seek  to  pro- 
tect labor  and  throw  around  it  all  the  safeguards  demanded  by- 
eternal  justice  itself.  She  ever  bears  in  mind  the  injunction 
given  of  old,  which  history  itself  has  only  made  more  evident, 
namely,  that  **  justice  exalteth  a  nation  and  evil  maketh  a  nation 
wretched."  Justice  is  called  for  particularly  in  the  social  con- 
ditions of  life :  the  justice  that  teaches  us  our  duties  to  our 
neighbor ;  the  justice  that  teaches  us  where  rightful  competition 
ends  and  oppression  begins ;  the  justice  that  makes  good  to 
man  the  right  to  happiness,  to  comfort,  to  peace,  to  liberty. 
This  is  what  the  church  has  contended  for,  and  she  sincerely 
rejoices  when  she  can  join  in  any  movement  that  looks  toward 
the  moral  and  social  welfare  of  the  people ;  for  her  conception 
of  patriotism  itself  is  a  patriotism  founded  upon  the  principles 
of  unchanging  righteousness.  It  is  only  those  laws  which  take 
into  account  the  moral  principles  that  she  holds,  which  will,  as 
she  is  convinced,  conserve  the  true  relation  and  proportion 
between  matters  of  human  and  of  divine  import,  between  the 
temporal  and  the  eternal.  Only  such  principles,  placing  the 
well-being  of  humanity  in  connection  with  an  eternity,  can 
offer  a  beneficent  and  permanent  solution  to  social  problems. 

Again  speaking  for  him  whom  I  represent,  I  desire  to  repeat 
his  personal  appreciation  of  the  honor  that  has  been  extended 
to  him  by  the  Academy,  and  to  express  his  sense  of  gratifica- 
tion in  the  existence  in  this  community  of  a  body  such  as  this 
Academy,  whose  principles  and  whose  activities  make  it  not 
only  possible,  but  most  agreeable  for  him  and  for  the  church 
that  he  represents,  to  stand  with  them  in  their  devotion  to  those 
principles  and  in  their  practical  application  of  them  to  the  up- 
lifting of  society. 

President  Lindsay  :  The  great  church,  numbering  its  ad- 
herents by  the  millions,  which  the  last  speaker  has  just  repre- 
sented, is  perhaps  no  more  numerous  than  the  great  body  of 
persons  interested  in  religious  work,  although  not  members  of 
any  one   church,  which   is   represented   by  the  next  speaker, 

(692) 


No.  4]  ADDRESSES  A T  THE  DINNER  2 1 9 

Bishop    Hendrix  of   Kansas   City,    President   of   the   Federal 
Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America. 

Bishop  Hendrix  :  It  is  a  great  delight  to  live  in  these  days 
when  our  differences  are  being  forgotten  in  the  consciousness 
of  our  agreements.  Whatever  differences  exist  in  a  general 
way  between  religious  bodies  of  different  names  to-day,  our 
teamwork  for  the  race  is  making  us  more  and  more  unmindful 
of  the  differences  and  more  and  more  delightfully  conscious  of 
the  points  of  agreement. 

When  our  fathers  were  just  finishing  their  work  of  framing 
the  constitution  of  our  country,  Edward  Gibbon  was  completing 
his  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire.  His  work  was  to 
prove  an  object-lesson  for  all  people,  and  for  none  more  than 
for  that  greatest  nation  of  modern  times,  the  United  States. 
What  smote  Rome  to  its  fall?  Carnal  impurity  and  covetous- 
ness.  Are  we  in  no  danger  in  our  own  land  from  these  two 
evils  which  have  smitten  to  the  death  every  nation  that  has  ever 
fallen?  I  crave  for  my  land  that  every  child  be  born  in  wed- 
lock and  physically  fit  to  live :  that  it  have  the  opportunities  of 
elementary  education ;  that  it  be  saved  from  the  dwarfing  and 
degrading  influence  of  child  labor ;  that  it  have  the  sanctities 
of  a  home,  and  not  the  corrupting  influences  of  a  one-room 
tenement ;  that  it  have  religious  training  and  religious  oppor- 
tunity so  that  its  moral  nature  shall  be  instructed  and  taught 
along  these  essential  lines.  I  lift  up  my  voice  to-night  for  the 
protection  of  the  youth  of  our  land  against  all  corruption,  and 
I  crave  greater  vigor  on  the  part  of  the  pulpit.  Let  us 
strengthen  and  upbuild  our  youth,  let  us  cry  out  with  fierceness 
against  all  wrong-doing  until  we  shall  hear  an  awakened  con- 
science cry,  "  Abhor  that  which  is  evil;  cleave  to  that  which  is 
good."  Then  we  shall  establish  and  protect  our  youth  and 
make  possible  that  blessed  eugenics  that  is  to  bless  the  nations 
all  round  the  world. 

President  Lindsay  :  I  am  in  doubt  whether  to  present  the 
next  speaker  as  a  great  religious  teacher,  a  representative  of  a 
great  church  organization,  or  a  civic  leader  renowned  for  his 
service  in  public  life — Rabbi  Hirsch,  of  Chicago. 

(693) 


220  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.  II 

Rabbi  Hirsch  :  If  anybody  has  the  right  to  claim  fellowship 
with  a  movement  like  this,  it  is  the  religious  community  of 
which  I  happen  to  be  the  representative  to-night;  for  if  one 
accent  is  struck  more  strongly  than  another  by  the  religious 
proclamation  held  to  be  true  by  this  community,  it  is  the  cry 
for  justice.  We  of  the  liberal  interpretation  of  the  ancient 
Biblical  literature  have  good  ground  for  holding  that  this  was 
the  new  note  sounded  by  the  ancient  Hebrew  prophets.  They 
were  teachers,  not  so  much  of  a  new  theology  as  of  a  new 
social  conscience,  and  what  stirred  their  wrath  was  not  in  reality 
the  idol-worship,  but  those  vices  and  those  forms  of  social  ex- 
ploitation that  had  received  their  sanction  in  the  name  of  the 
foreign  deities  worshipped  in  the  Holy  Land.  Justice  is  the  note 
struck  in  the  warnings,  admonitions  and  teachings  of  the  ancient 
seers  of  Israel ;  it  runs  through  the  whole  of  Israel's  conscious- 
ness, this  cry  for  justice,  a  cry  most  pathetic  if  it  be  remembered 
that  they  who  believed  in  the  ultimate  triumph  of  justice  were 
held  for  many  a  century  the  victims  of  injustice.  To-day  in 
the  synagogue,  wherever  this  is  understood,  the  pulpit  is  vocal 
with  the  thunder  of  Sinai,  because  it  pleads  for  justice  and 
condemns  injustice  of  whatever  kind. 

The  great  Master's  word  that  His  kingdom  was  not  of  this 
world  has,  according  to  our  understanding  of  the  Jewish  phrase- 
ology that  he  must  have  used,  been  entirely  misunderstood. 
Of  course,  the  world  by  which  he  was  surrounded  was  not  the 
world  of  the  kingdom.  Neither  in  Rome  nor  in  Jerusalem  was 
justice  enthroned ;  neither  in  Rome  nor  in  Jerusalem  in  those 
days  was  the  law  understood,  the  law  of  love,  the  law  of  re- 
sponsibility, the  law  of  solidarity,  that  makes  every  man  the 
keeper  of  his  brother  man ;  neither  in  Rome  nor  in  Jerusalem 
in  those  days  did  they  know  that  whenever  man  turns  aside 
from  his  brother  man  and  pleads  that  he  is  not  his  brother's 
keeper,  he  commits  murder,  as  did  he  who  uttered  this  insolent, 
impious  expression  as  recorded  in  holy  writ.  Therefore  the 
Master  was  right  in  saying  that  his  kingdom  was  not  of  this 
world.  What  he  meant,  as  we  understand  his  words,  was  that 
the  world  was  to  be  changed  so  as  to  square  with  the  implica- 
tion of  the  kingdom,  and  that  is  the  social  ambition  of  the 
synagogue,  to  change  the  world  into  a  Kingdom  of  God. 

(694) 


No.  4]  ADDRESSES  AT  THE  DINNER  221 

What  does  that  mean?  Our  religion  teaches  that  every  man 
is  made  in  the  image  of  God.  Therefore  it  insists  that  no  man 
shall  be  deprived,  in  consequence  of  social  pressure,  of  the 
attributes  involved  in  his  being  made  in  the  likeness  of  the 
Creator.  When  social  conditions  are  such  that  man  is  degraded 
to  the  level  of  a  mere  pair  of  hands ;  and  when  these  hands  are 
bought  and  sold  as  are  the  dead  things  in  the  market,  at  market 
rate,  when  men  are  subject  to  the  law  of  supply  and  demand — 
then  the  law  of  solidarity  of  the  human  race  is  outraged  and 
broken,  and  conditions  are  such  that  no  man  can  live  up  to  the 
divinity  implanted  in  his  soul  by  God.  Man  is  more  than  a 
pair  of  hands  to  be  bought  and  sold  at  the  lowest  price,  or  to 
be  offered  at  the  highest  price.  With  the  hands  goes  a  heart, 
and  with  the  heart  goes  love,  and  with  the  love  goes  much  more 
than  is  compensated  for  in  the  tabulation  of  wage  and  the  cal- 
culation of  profit.  We  are  all  stirred  to  our  utmost  depth  when 
the  story  is  told  of  human  degradation  superinduced,  maybe, 
by  human  avarice,  or  invited  by  human  passion,  and  many  a 
victim  has  sunk  underneath  the  waves  of  the  ocean  of  vice 
simply  because  social  conditions  were  not  such  that  the  victim 
could  maintain  his,  and  in  a  thousand  cases  her,  divinity.  She 
had  to  sell  herself  for  bread,  not  out  of  lust ;  and  the  civiliza- 
tion that  allows  this  form  of  slavery,  or  slavery  of  a  social  or 
economic  kind,  the  slavery  of  little  children  in  the  factories, 
that  civilization  indeed  is  not  of  the  Kingdom.  Our  church 
wishes  that  every  one  coming  under  its  influence  shall  strive  to 
help  build  up  out  of  social  elements  a  Kingdom  of  God.  Or, 
in  other  words,  according  to  the  teaching  of  my  religion,  prop- 
erty is  not  the  primary  but  the  secondary  consideration.  Per- 
sonality, morality,  character,  and  humanity  are  much  more 
valuable  than  any  right  of  property,  and  property  has  rights 
only  when  property  assumes  and  discharges  the  duties  that  go 
with  those  rights. 

Far  be  it  from  me  to  dispute  that  as  long  as  humanity  shall 
exist  there  will  be  differences.  Some  are  born  with  the  capac- 
ity for  stewarding  property ;  others  are  gifted  in  other  direc- 
tions. We  must  serve  each  one  at  a  definite  place,  so  that  out 
of  our  service  the  well-being  of  society  may  develop.     We  can- 

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222  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.11 

not  be  equal  in  function,  though  we  can  be  equal  in  worth  and 
in  worthiness,  and  many  a  one  who  is  a  hewer  of  wood  and  a 
drawer  of  water  is  much  worthier  than  one  who  commands 
thousands  of  lives  and  holds  them  to  a  grindstone  in  a  factory 
organized  merely  on  the  principle  of  the  least  expense,  with  a 
view  to  the  largest  return  to  a  stockholder  or  private  owner. 

Society,  as  we  understand  it,  is  based  on  this  differentiation 
of  men,  but  it  preaches,  according  to  my  religion,  the  law  of 
selection.  We  are  elected  to  be  what  we  are  by  God,  and 
therefore,  according  to  this  doctrine,  we  are  responsible  to 
society  or  to  God  for  the  use  we  make  of  that  which  God  has 
placed  within  our  charge.  We  are  not  the  owners  of  our  lives, 
of  our  opportunity,  we  are  not  the  proprietors  of  our  talents,  we 
are  not  the  absolute  controllers  of  our  property ;  but  we  are 
merely  stewards  placed  there  by  God,  that  out  of  our  strength 
the  weakness  of  others  may  be  uplifted,  and  out  of  our  abund- 
ance the  hunger  of  others  may  be  appeased. 

There  is  much  more  gnawing  hunger  than  even  the  hunger 
for  bread,  and  that  is  hunger  for  righteousness.  It  is  not  true 
that  the  social  question  is  a  question  of  the  stomach.  It  is 
not  even  a  question  of  wage.  It  is  of  human  dignity,  of 
human  liberty,  and  it  is  ultimately  the  great  problem  of  human 
existence,  of  human  solidarity.  That  is  what  my  religion 
attempts  to  teach  those  who  walk  in  its  ways. 

We  have  been  trying  to  apply  these  truths,  of  course  in  a 
small  degree,  in  the  uplifting  of  our  nearer  kinfolk.  We  know 
that  our  own  Jewish  poor  have  perhaps  no  one  who  can  under- 
stand them  as  the  Jews  can.  We  know  their  souls,  for,  as  it  is 
written  in  the  Book  when  God  enjoins  upon  Israel  to  be  mind- 
ful of  the  needs  of  the  stranger,  "  You  know  the  soul  of  the 
stranger,  for  strangers  you  were  in  a  land  not  your  own."  The 
Jew  has  tasted  the  bitter  bread  of  exile,  he  has  often  hungered 
and  thirsted,  and  no  one  has  offered  him  the  bread  and  held  to 
his  lips  the  water  that  refreshed.  Therefore  the  Jew,  knowing 
what  he  himself  had  to  contend  against,  understands  what  the 
Russian  Jews  are  pleading  for ;  he  knows  what  their  souls  have 
suffered  and  how  they  are  warped,  he  realizes  the  dangers  into 
which  they  are  plunged  at  once  by  coming  to  this  land  of 
liberty — alas !   so  often  the  land  of  unrestricted  license. 

(696) 


No.  4]  ADDRESSES  AT  THE  DINNER  223 

Two  hundred  fifty- six  years  ago  the  governor  here  in  Man- 
hattan was  promised  by  the  Jews  that  no  Jew  should  become  a 
charge  upon  the  community.  We  have  remembered  that 
pledge,  and  it  accounts  for  our  seeming  clannishness.  Suppose 
a  mother  trains  two  children  of  her  own  to  be  good  men  and 
good  women,  does  she  not  do  as  much  for  society  as  if  she 
trained  two  other  children  not  her  own  ?  The  Jews  that  have 
the  social  consecration  of  their  religion  are  doing  service  for 
this  land  and  for  humanity.  The  synagogue  to-day  preaches,  if 
that  doctrine  is  preached  anywhere,  the  glad  tidings  of  a 
humanity  that  will  recognize  distinctions  only  as  stronger 
appeals  to  duty ;  it  calls  all  men  children  of  God,  and  it  will 
cooperate  cheerfully  with  every  movement  that  looks  toward 
breaking  the  shackles  of  slavery,  be  it  slavery  in  the  brothel,  in 
the  factory  or  in  the  home  of  luxury.  Therefore  I  come  to 
speak  for  every  Jew  in  this  country  and  the  world  when  I  say 
that  the  synagogue  is  glad  to  stand  by  the  church  in  the  great 
work  of  lifting  up  humanity  and  bringing  in  God's  Kingdom  on 
earth,  that  will  not  come  until  justice  be  done  everywhere,  and 
righteousness  be  the  star  that  leads  men  on  to  their  ultimate 
destiny  under  God's  appointment. 

President  Lindsay  :  We  shall  all  agree  in  placing  high  on 
the  list  of  social  workers  the  medical  missionary.  Dr.  Grenfell 
of  Labrador  is  our  next  speaker. 

Dr.  Grenfell  :  I  am  neither  theologian  nor  philosopher. 
I  am  a  humble  member  of  the  medical  profession,  and  I  ap- 
proach the  subject  to-night  from  the  point  of  view  of  an  indi- 
vidual rather  than  a  leader  of  a  large  organization.  To  me 
there  is  little  difference  between  religious  and  social  work.  As 
I  read  Christ's  words,  he  says,  ''  All  those  that  are  not  against 
me  are  for  me."  The  men  or  the  women  who  love  humanity 
enough  to  saerifice  themselves  for  the  uplift  of  their  fellow-men 
I  should  class  as  religious  workers.  The  definitions  which  have 
served  to  separate  the  social  worker  and  the  religious  worker, 
and  to  separate  one  kind  of  religious  worker  from  another, 
seem  to  me  to  relate  to  the  way  in  which  each  man  receives  the 
strength  to  do  his  work,  rather  than  to  anything  else. 

(697) 


224  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.11 

I  have  been  working  among  deep-sea  fishermen,  and  largely 
at  sea,  and  I  went  among  them  because  I  wanted  to  try  and 
carry  to  them  that  message  of  love  which  appealed  to  me,  in  a 
practical  effort  to  make  their  lives  better.  In  the  hospital  work 
in  which  I  was  engaged  in  London  I  used  to  see  the  surgeon 
triumphing  over  many  difficulties,  spending  time  and  skill  and 
money.  I  used  to  see  the  nurses  giving  untold  affection  to  the 
restoration  to  physical  health  of  numbers  of  poor  folk.  When 
I  came  myself  to  visit  the  houses  of  those  people  in  the  east 
end  of  London,  I  found  that  often  enough  all  the  good  done  by 
the  worker  was  almost  immediately  undone  by  the  same  en- 
vironment which  had  produced  the  original  trouble.  I  came  to 
the  conclusion  that  an  ordinary  surgeon  might  do  a  higher  work 
than  merely  to  make  the  man  with  a  crooked  leg  walk 
straight.  It  is  comparatively  easy  in  these  days  to  do  that. 
The  really  difficult  problem  is  to  make  the  man  with  a  straight 
leg  walk  straight.  When  I  found  a  child  that  I  had  learned  to 
love  in  the  children's  ward  going  back  to  a  home  where  selfish- 
ness and  lust  and  vice  deprived  him  of  any  chance  of  a  sound 
physical  condition,  I  saw  that  vice  and  sin  and  selfishness  must 
be  cured  if  the  end  we  were  aiming  at  was  to  be  attained. 

As  to  the  methods  of  our  work,  we  try  to  approach  a  man 
through  his  body,  because  we  do  not  know  any  other  way  to 
approach  him.  We  started  a  hospital  at  sea  for  the  simple 
reason  that  otherwise  an  injured  man  when  he  came  ashore  was 
often  beyond  reach  altogether.  A  simple  fracture  became  a 
compound  one.  We  talked  to  a  man  and  said  that  we  were 
sorry  for  him,  but  did  nothing  more.  To  avoid  the  fatal  loss 
of  time  we  sent  our  hospital  out  to  sea. 

Next  I  will  speak  of  the  liquor  question.  It  was  plain  to  me, 
when  I  came  to  live  among  fishermen,  that  the  dangers  of  the 
sea  were  insignificant  as  compared  with  the  dangers  of  the 
land.  And  I  will  say  that  to-night — yes,  when  you  are  all 
thinking  of  the  present  horrible  disaster.  I  have  seen  more 
children  damned  and  robbed  through  the  saloons  than  through 
all  the  icebergs  and  fogs  I  have  sailed  among,  and  I  have  been 
at  sea  twenty-five  years.  When  a  man  has  been  drowned  at 
sea  because  he  was  drunk  and  you  go  ashore  to  his  home  and 

(698) 


No.  4]  ADDRESSES  AT  THE  DINNER  225 

tell  his  wife  she  is  a  widow  and  the  children  are  fatherless,  and 
you  are  awfully  sorry  for  them,  your  sorrow  is  not  worth  any- 
thing. I  have  floated  on  an  icy  sea  for  twenty-four  years,  and 
I  have  never  taken  liquor.  It  is  not  necessary;  one  can  do 
well  without  it.  Therefore  we  considered  that  the  next  social 
or  religious  work  for  our  men  was  to  try  and  knock  the  liquor 
out.  I  bought  four  tons  of  tobacco  in  Ostend  and  went  to  sea 
with  that,  and  in  three  months  I  had  a  tobacco  flag  on  several 
vessels.  The  men  did  not  go  to  the  saloons  to  buy  tobacco, 
they  went  to  these  clean  vessels.  It  knocked  the  liquor  vessels 
out. 

There  is  no  need  of  my  dilating  on  the  uplift  to  the  soul  that 
comes  through  a  sound  body.  The  body  degenerated  through 
any  cause  cannot  possibly  express  the  soul  or  give  it  a  fair 
chance,  and  by  the  soul  I  mean  the  man.  To  me  the  man  is 
always  absolutely  different  from  his  body.  We  consider  our 
hospitals  and  our  hospital  boats  as  simply  a  part  of  our 
religious  and  social  work. 

I  will  add  but  one  word.  On  what  basis  is  one  man  going 
to  uplift  another?  I  think  he  is  going  to  lift  him  up  on  the 
basis  of  loving  him.  That  was  Christ's  method,  and  it  seems 
to  be  the  right  method.  All  power  must  come  from  faith. 
Love  is  the  power  of  faith.  It  must  be  based  on  the  power 
which  Christ  came  to  tell  us  about,  the  motive  power  of  the 
world,  the  love  of  man  for  God,  and  of  God  for  man,  and  of 
man  for  his  fellow-man.  I  am  glad  to-day  that  the  Catholic 
and  the  Protestant  and  the  Jew  and  the  medical  profession  can 
join  together  in  feeling  that  we  each  have  some  place  in  trying 
to  interpret  to  somebody  who  understands  it  best  through  our 
particular  channel  that  divine  message.  I  believe  in  the  King- 
dom of  the  Master  coming  from  the  heart.  As  has  been  said, 
the  old  interpretation  of  religious  organization  was,  when  one 
saw  a  wounded  beggar  lying  by  the  roadside,  to  rush  to 
Jerusalem  and  have  a  prayer  meeting,  but  now  we  all  go  across 
the  road  and  put  the  wounded  man  on  the  donkey. 

President  Lindsay  :  Our  next  speaker  is  a  social  worker 
who  has  had  the  gratifying  faculty  of  interpreting  for  us  the 

(699) 


226  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.  II 

social   spirit   of    our  times,    Professor  Edward   T.  Devine,  of 
Columbia  University,  Editor  of  The  Survey. 

Edward  T.  Devine,  Professor  of  Social  Economy,  Colum- 
bia University,  and  Editor  of  The  Survey  :  For  three  days  we 
have  been  walking,  groping  in  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of 
death.  We  cannot  escape  it.  We  cannot  get  it  out  of  our 
minds.  What  happened  there  on  the  fog  banks,'  the  story  of 
which  is  now  slowly  creeping  up  the  channel  here,  is  constantly 
in  our  minds.  Since  we  cannot  get  rid  of  it,  since  in  that 
shadow  the  ordinary  events  of  our  lives  some  way  change  their 
scale  of  values  and  seem  relatively  unimportant,  why  should  we 
not  frankly  speak  about  it?  And  yet,  my  friends,  as  our  minds 
turn,  whether  we  will  or  not,  to  that  great  tragedy,  titanic  in 
fact  no  less  than  in  name,  is  it  not  true  that  the  two  things 
which  we  consider  to-night  are  the  things  which  in  a  dark  hour 
like  this  retain  their  significance — religion  and  the  social  wel- 
fare? Anticipating  an  hour  like  this,  religion,  in  the  words  of 
the  psalmist  that  have  come  down  to  us  through  the  ages,  bids 
us  say,  "  Though  I  walk  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of 
death,  I  will  fear  no  evil."  In  consideration  of  the  social  wel- 
fare, the  social  spirit  easily  pictures  itself  on  a  ship,  a  ship  on 
which  humanity  is  embarked,  and  the  specific  task  of  social 
work  is  to  keep  an  eye  on  the  lifeboats,  on  the  riveting  of  the 
plates,  on  the  messages  that  come  warning  us  of  the  icebergs,, 
and  at  last  on  the  courage  and  the  conduct  of  the  individual  in 
the  hour  when  his  courage  meets  the  supreme  test.  Does  he 
go  down  to  death  in  sacrifice,  if  need  be,  that  the  weak  may 
be  saved? 

We  have  heard  much  of  late  of  the  biological  doctrine  of 
eugenics.  It  has  been  referred  to  here  in  applications  with 
which  I  have  no  quarrel;  but  there  are  those  injudicious 
apostles  of  a  half-assimilated  idea  who  are  teaching  us  a  strange 
philosophy ;  who  are  saying  to  us  in  the  name  of  biology  that 
the  strong  should  ruthlessly  trample  on  the  weak;  who  are 
saying  to  us  that  it  is  so  desirable  for  the  race  that  certain 
qualities  should  be  preserved  in  humanity  that  we  must  see  to. 

^  The  wreck  of  the  Titanic. 
(700) 


I 


No.  4]  ADDRESSES  AT  THE  DINNER  227 

it  that  the  matings  of  the  strong  are  encouraged ;  who  are  say- 
ing, on  the  other,  hand,  that  it  is  so  desirable  for  humanity  to 
eliminate  certain  qualities  from  the  race  that  there  should  be 
voluntary  or  enforced  celibacy  on  the  part  of  those  who  have 
those  qualities.  With  these  last  applications  of  the  doctrine  also 
I  have  no  quarrel. 

But  there  are  those  who  go  still  further  and  say  that  laws  for 
the  protection  of  children  from  the  evil  consequence  of  prema- 
ture employment,  laws  that  seek  to  improve  housing  conditions, 
laws  that  seek  to  prevent  infectious  diseases,  are  injurious  to 
the  race  because  they  are  interfering  with  natural  selection. 
There  are  those  who  say  that,  just  as  in  old  times  war  and 
pestilence  and  famine  performed  a  beneficent  function  because 
they  stamped  out  the  weak  and  enabled  the  strong  to  survive, 
so  now  we  have  the  slums  and  child  labor  and  tuberculosis  and 
typhoid  and  industrial  accidents,  and  that  these  natural  succes- 
sors to  war  and  pestilence  and  famine  are  performing  the  same 
beneficent  function  for  society  which  those  former  agents  of 
natural  selection  performed. 

Is  it  not  time  that  religion  and  social  work  get  together  to 
consider  this  strange  philosophy?  There  are  those  here  to- 
night who  have  authority  to  speak  on  behalf  of  religion,  and 
they  have  spoken.  Speaking  quite  unofficially  for  the  social 
workers,  whose  spirit  I  think  I  know,  I  venture  to  say  to  those 
who  condemn  child  labor  laws  on  the  ground  that  parents  will 
not  care  for  their  children  unless  they  can  get  their  wages  at 
nine  and  ten  and  eleven  years  of  age,  who  condemn  workmen's 
compensation  on  the  ground  that  it  will  interfere  with  the 
beneficent  working  of  natural  selection — I  say  to  them,  "  You 
may  be  right.  It  may  be  that  a  society  that  protects  the  weak 
and  puts  on  the  shoulders  of  the  strong  the  burdens  of  society, 
will  go  down.  If  so,  we  choose  to  go  down."  A  society  that 
can  survive  only  by  trampling  out  the  weak  and  giving  artificial 
encouragement  to  the  strong  does  not  deserve  to  survive.  We 
who  have  enlisted  in  these  new  crusades  against  tuberculosis, 
against  unsanitary  houses,  against  the  labor  of  women  more 
than  fifty-four  hours  in  a  week,  against  the  premature  employ- 
ment of  children — we  mean  to  see  to  it  that  compassion  and 
fraternity  shall  not  disappear  from  the  earth. 

(701) 


228  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.11 

That  is  the  message,  if  I  understand  it,  of  social  service.  Is 
not  that,  Rabbi,  Monsignor,  Bishop,  Doctor,  the  message  also 
of  religion?  I  believe  that  it  is.  I  do  not  know  for  what  your 
churches  and  cathedrals  and  synagogues  have  been  founded  and 
kept  alive  if  it  be  not  to  see  to  it  that  men  hear  the  message  to 
do  justice  and  to  love  mercy.  We,  too,  like  the  eugenist,  would 
have  our  weak  sister,  the  defective  girl,  cared  for,  but  we  do 
not  think  that  the  strong  argument  in  favor  of  that  policy  is  the 
danger  of  contaminating  by  her  strain  the  stream  of  humanity. 
We  do  not  think  it  is  the  protection  of  society  against  her 
degeneracy  that  will  move  society  to  act.  We  think  that  a 
strong  appeal  lies  in  infinite  compassion  for  her  as  an  individual ; 
we  think  that  it  is  because  she  is  to  be  protected  against  criminal 
assault  rather  than  that  society  is  to  be  protected  against  her, 
that  people  will  give  to  her  the  tender  care  which  she  ought  to 
have. 

Our  ship  is  not  sinking.  It  will  come,  we  hope,  to  the  port 
where  we  fain  would  be.  Our  last  word  is  not  of  sacrifice. 
"  Thou  requirest  not  sacrifice,  else  would  we  give  it."  Our  last 
word  is  the  rescue  of  the  lost.  Our  last  word  is  of  rehabilita- 
tion, of  reintegration,  of  redemption.  Redemption  is  the  social 
gospel. 

President  Lindsay  :  Our  next  speaker  is  one  who  has  ap- 
pealed in  a  remarkable  way  to  the  strength  of  young  men — Mr. 
John  R.  Mott,  the  General  Secretary  of  the  World's  Student 
Christian  Federation,  and  the  Associate  General  Secretary  of 
the  International  Young  Men's  Christian  Association. 

Mr.  Mott:  The  most  critical  battlefield  is  not  the  slum, 
nor  is  it  the  area  of  social  injustice  and  neglect.  Without  a 
shadow  of  doubt,  the  most  critical  battlefield  of  our  day  is  the 
universities.  Any  ideal  or  spirit  which  we  wish  to  have  per- 
meate the  nation  must  first  dominate  these  centers  of  higher 
learning.  You  recall  the  German  proverb  that  what  you  would 
put  into  the  life  of  a  nation,  you  must  put  into  its  schools.  No 
movement  has  ever  permanently  triumphed  which  has  not  at 
one  time  entered  the  colleges  and  universities.  These  teach 
the  teachers ;   these  preach  to  the  preachers ;   these  govern  the 

(702)    . 


No.  4]  ADDRESSES  AT  THE  DINNER  229 

governors.  It  is,  therefore,  not  a  matter  of  indifference  but  of 
most  vital  concern  whether  our  universities  and  colleges  are  fully 
and  constantly  exposed  to  social  influences,  and  whether  those 
who  determine  college  ideals  are  dominated  by  the  social 
passion. 

I  go  further  and  maintain  that  the  universities  and  the 
colleges  need  the  social  movement.  They  need  it  in  order  to 
be  saved.  The  most  subtle  dangers  of  our  modern  student  life 
will  not  be  conquered,  in  my  judgment,  without  a  closer 
relation  to  the  processes  of  social  advance.  Some  of  these 
dangers  are  the  dangers  of  growing  luxury  and  extravagance,  a 
tendency  in  not  a  few  places  to  softness  and  an  increasing  love 
of  ease  and  pleasure — dangers  that  are  eating  into  the  best  life 
of  some  of  our  most  honored  institutions ;  dangers  likewise  of 
snobbishness,  more  than  a  remnant  of  the  old  town-and-gown 
spirit  of  the  middle  ages  and  of  the  last  century ;  dangers  from 
the  cliques  that  have  broken  our  college  life  in  these  days  by  a 
sharper  cleavage  than  in  any  previous  generation :  dangers  of 
the  ultra-critical  and  cynical  attitude;  likewise  some  of  the 
most  subtle  forms  of  selfishness.  These  tendencies  are  far 
more  dangerous  than  the  so-called  forces  of  sin  and  shame. 
We  must  socialize  the  colleges  for  their  salvation. 

The  colleges  need  the  social  movement  in  order  that  we  may 
have  the  note  of  reality  sounded  out  not  only  within  them,  but 
through  them  in  the  life  of  church  and  state.  We  need  tasks 
vast  enough  to  appeal  to  the  imagination  of  the  future  leaders ; 
tasks  so  difficult  that  they  will  call  out  the  best  energies  of  the 
minds  and  hearts  of  the  students;  tasks  so  absorbing  that 
students  will  forget  themselves ;  tasks  whose  tragic  responsibili- 
ties will  startle  students  from  their  theorizing  and  dreaming 
into  reality.  We  need,  therefore,  this  exposure  to  the  social 
conditions  of  our  time. 

The  universities  need  this  exposure  and  this  attitude  in  order 
also  that  they  may  fulfil  the  highest  mission  of  universities. 
What  is  that?  To  train  men  not  simply  for  personal  better- 
ment but  for  public  service.  Why  are  the  educated  persons 
entitled  to  stand  in  high  places  ?  Noblesse  oblige.  They  need 
this  also  to  call  out  their  latent  possibilities.     It  moves  me 

(703) 


230  •        ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL  WORK  [Vol.  II 

deeply  as  I  travel  among  the  universities  to  see  there  the 
capacities  for  vicariousness,  for  heroism,  for  unselfish  achieve- 
ment, dormant,  needing  to  be  related  to  social  facts. 

Not  only  do  the  universities  need  the  social  movement,  but 
the  social  movement  needs  the  universities  if  it  is  to  achieve  its 
principal  mission.  The  movement  for  the  betterment  of  society 
needs  the  universities  in  order  that  we  may  have  the  thinkers 
without  whom  these  problems  will  not  be  solved.  In  what  field 
to-day  is  there  so  great  need  of  scientific  study  and  investiga- 
tion, of  broad  and  constructive  treatment,  amid  surroundings 
that  make  for  unselfish  detachment,  as  in  the  realm  of  social 
difficulties,  and  where  shall  we  look  for  this  training  if  we  do 
not  look  to  the  universities  and  the  colleges  ? 

The  social  movement  must  look  there  likewise  to  find  not  only 
the  thinkers,  but  the  apostles.  The  church  will  not  rise  to  her 
social  mission,  nor  will  the  other  great  religious  forces,  unless 
we  have  this  passion  for  unselfishness  and  heroic  service  seizing 
the  colleges  with  greater  intensity. 

The  social  movement  must  have  the  colleges  also  in  order 
that  we  may  have  entering  the  various  influential  walks  of  life 
men  who  are  dominated  by  this  ideal  and  this  purpose.  It  is 
an  idle  dream  to  talk  about  solving  these  questions  permanently 
unless  we  have  a  larger  stream  entering  politics,  medicine,  the 
law,  the  ministry,  to  say  nothing  of  engineering  and  the  other 
callings  that  bring  leaders  near  the  laboring  men.  Men  must 
bring  to  bear  in  the  relationships  of  these  professions  the  prin- 
ciples and  practises  of  pure  religion. 

This  lends  significance  to  the  Christian  Student  Movement, 
which  is  expanding  in  our  universities  and  colleges.  It  is  in  a 
position  to  render  a  large  service  in  these  ways  because  of  its 
numbers  and  personnel.  It  now  counts  nearly  150,000  students 
and  professors  throughout  the  world,  mostly  young  men  and 
young  women  in  the  vision-forming  period  of  life,  responsive 
ever  to  the  highest  ideals,  showing  their  ability  to  work  together 
in  a  mighty  movement.  We  can  expect  much  from  it,  because 
of  the  esprit  de  corps  that  comes  from  linking  together  the  future 
leaders  of  countries  such  as  this.  We  may  expect  much  from 
it,  because  it  has  a  method  and  plan  of  work  that  make  possible 

(704) 


No.  4]  ADDRESSES  AT  THE  DINNER  23 1 

the  bringing  to  bear  of  its  ideals  and  spirit  upon  all  of  the 
influential  professions  at  their  source.  We  may  expect  much 
from  it,  because  it  has  demonstrated  its  ability  in  the  form  of 
foreign  missions  to  wage  a  triumphant  propaganda.  If  it  has 
been  able  to  recruit  six  thousand  students  from  the  universities 
of  North  America  and  Great  Britain  within  twenty-five  years, 
who  have  been  sent  out  to  come  to  close  grapple  with  the  social 
problems  of  the  non-Christian  world,  it  is  able  to  do  much 
larger  things  in  our  home  countries.  We  are  not  surprised, 
therefore,  to  find  this  movement  responsive  to  the  ideals  of 
organizations  such  as  that  under  whose  auspices  we  are  assem- 
bled to-night. 

What  is  the  movement  doing  in  the  colleges?  Under  its 
auspices  are  being  given  addresses  by  labor  leaders  and  repre- 
sentatives of  every  class,  bringing  vividly  before  the  studying 
youth  in  our  generation  the  facts  and  forces  that  make  for  the 
betterment  of  society.  It  goes  deeper  than  that  because  it  sees 
we  need  not  only  knowledge,  but  realization  in  promoting  the 
scientific  study  of  these  subjects.  Thousands  of  students  are 
studying  the  social  facts  through  such  books  as  Misery  and  its 
Causes,  by  Dr.  Devine,  and  Social  Degradation  and  Social 
Reclamation,  by  Malcolm  Spencer  of  London.  Hundreds  of 
these  associations  are  also  undertaking  the  study  of  their  own 
communities,  leading  the  students  before  they  enter  the  influ- 
ential walks  of  life  to  learn  how  they  may  face  these  questions 
in  a  sane,  practical  and  helpful  way.  Besides  this — and  this  is 
important — this  movement  is  leading  the  students  to  stand  in 
front  of  the  social  facts  and  ask  themselves,  How  far  are  we 
students  responsible  for  these  facts  and  what  are  we  doing  to 
change  these  facts? 

The  place  to  bring  power  to  bear  is  where  it  can  be  most 
wisely  and  advantageously  applied.  Surely  that  place  is  the 
colleges.  But  this  movement  comes  nearer  than  that.  It  seeks 
to  socialize  the  colleges.  By  its  democratic  spirit,  drawing  into 
its  membership  the  members  of  all  classes  and  organizations, 
the  rich  and  the  poor,  men  holding  different  views  on  rehgious 
questions,  fusing  them  together  in  a  solid  brotherhood,  it  is 
making  for  the  socializing  of  the  colleges.     It  is  also  doing  so  in 

(70s) 


232  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK  [Vol.   I 

the  grappling  with  certain  of  the  evils.  I  think  one  of  the  finest 
things  being  done  now  is  the  grappling  with  the  social  evil  as  it 
is  eating  like  a  cancer  into  the  best  life  of  some  colleges  where 
you  would  least  expect  it.  I  want  to  resent  bitterly  charges  that 
we  sometimes  hear  about  the  moral  condition  of  our  colleges. 
I  consider  them  among  the  most  moral  communities  we  have, 
and  yet  I  should  be  superficial  if  I  did  not  recognize  cancer 
where  I  know  it  is  working.  This  movement  is  to  be  recom- 
mended for  seeking  in  a  quiet  way  to  socialize  the  colleges  in 
this  sense. 

The  movement  is  doing  still  more  in  some  ways  by  enlisting 
not  hundreds,  but  thousands,  of  undergraduates  in  social  service 
in  the  college  communities.  You  will  find  nearly  two  hundred 
undergraduates  in  Yale,  engaged  in  such  activities;  and  in 
Harvard  one  year  three  hundred  sixty-seven  men  gave  in  their 
names  as  desirous  of  engaging  in  some  form  of  social  service. 
I  could  take  you  to  Princeton,  which  is  not  so  favorably  situated 
for  these  activities,  and  yet  show  you  groups  of  men  going  out 
for  social  service.  Small  colleges,  like  Williams  and  Amherst, 
are  conducting  boys'  clubs  in  nearby  places.  These  are  but 
typical  of  how  the  undergraduates  are  being  related  to  the 
social  needs  in  their  diverse  aspects.  We  are  seeking  to  impress 
upon  the  men  as  they  graduate  the  great  message  of  the  colleges, 
that  they  shall  go  out  as  statesmen  and  and  lawyers  and  doctors 
and  editors  and  authors  and  engineers,  sons  of  the  wealthy, 
sons  of  the  poor,  to  make  their  influence  tell  on  these  great 
social  questions. 

A  few  days  ago  I  spoke  in  the  House  of  Commons  to  a 
company  of  members  of  Parliament,  and  we  had  a  short  dis- 
cussion. A  member  from  Scotland  said,  **  We  in  Parliament 
now  have  become  conscious  of  the  power  of  this  Christian 
Student  Movement."  If  he  could  say  that  now  in  the  infancy 
of  this  movement,  what  can  we  say  a  few  years  hence  when  its 
network  of  unselfishness  and  of  helpfulness  has  been  spread 
more  intimately,  not  only  over  the  undergraduates,  but  through 
them  over  the  graduates  who  are  going  out  to  dominate  society 
and  lead  the  forces  which  make  possible  the  solution  of  these 
problems?     You  remember  the  morning  when  you  read  in  the 

(706) 


No.  4]  ADDRESSES  AT  THE  DINNER  233 

paper  that  the  203-Meter-Hill  fortress  had  been  captured.  It 
did  not  require  you  to  be  a  military  strategist  to  predict  that  it 
would  be  only  a  short  time  before  the  great  citadel  of  Port 
Arthur  must  fall.  I  remind  you  that  the  universities  and  col- 
leges are  the  203-Meter-Hill  fortress  of  the  nations. 

(707) 


PROCEEDINGS   OF  THE   SPRING   MEETING  OF  THE 

ACADEMY  OF  POLITICAL  SCIENCE  HELD  IN 

NEW  YORK,  APRIL  i8  AND   19,  1912 

THE  spring  meeting  of  the  Academy  of  Political  Science 
held  in  New  York  on  April  18  and  19,  191 2,  dealt  with 
Organization  for  Social  Work.    Three  sessions  were  held 
at  Earl  Hall,  Columbia  University.    The  program  was  as  follows : 

FIRST  SESSION 
Thursday  morning,  April  18 

Topic 
Greater  New  York's  Social  Needs 
Charitable  Relief 

W.  Frank  Persons 
Housing  Needs 

Lawrence  Veiller 
Protection  of  Factory  Workers 

George  M.  Price 
Child  Labor  in  the  Tenements  and  Home  Work  for  Women 

Mrs.  Florence  Kelley 
Budgetary  Provision  for  Social  Needs 

William  H.  Allen 
Education  of  Mothers  and  the  Saving  of  Babies 

Philip   Van  Ingen 
Discussion  by  James  Jenkins,  Jr. 

SECOND  SESSION 
Thursday  afternoon,  April  18 

Topic 

Social  Surveys 

The  Spread  of  the  Survey  Idea. 

Paul  U.  Kellogg 

(708) 


PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  SPRING  MEETING  235 

The  Survey  of  a  Typical  American  City 

Shelby  M.  Harrison 
A  Sanitary  and  Health  Survey 

George  T.  Palmer 
The  Relation  of  a  District  Neighborhood  Survey  to  Social 
Needs 

Miss  Pauline  Goldmark 
Discussion  by  Professor  Robert  Emmet  Chaddock 

FOURTH  SESSION 
Friday  morning,  April  19 

Topic 
NATIONAL    SOCIAL   NEEDS 

Recreation  and  Youth 

Luther  H.   Gulick 
Next  Steps  in  the  Child-Labor  Campaign 

Owen  R.  Lovejoy 
Regulation  of  Public  Amusements 

Mrs.  Belle  Lindner  Israels 
Commercialized  Vice 

George  J.  Kneeland 
Discussion  by  Rev.  Washington  Gladden,  Professor  Henry  R. 
Seager  and  Dr.  Hastings  H.  Hart 

Robert  W.  deForest  presided  at  the  first  session,  Paul  U. 
Kellogg  at  the  second  session  and  Professor  Samuel  McCune 
Lindsay  at  the  fourth  session. 


CONFERENCE  DINNER 
The   semi-annual   dinner  was   held   at  the   Hotel  Astor  on 
Thursday  evening,  April  18,  President  Samuel  McCune  Lindsay 
presiding. 

The  guests  of  honor  were  Monsignor  Mooney,  personal  rep- 
resentative of  Cardinal  Farley ;  Rt.  Rev.  Eugene  Russell  Hen- 
drix,  Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South;  Rabbi 

(709) 


236  ORGANIZATION  FOR  SOCIAL   WORK 

Emil  G.  Hirsch,  Professor  of  Rabbinical  Literature  and  Phil- 
osophy, University  of  Chicago ;  Dr.  Wilfred  T.  Grenfell  of 
Labrador;  Mr.  John  R.  Mott,  General  Secretary  of  the  World's 
Student  Federation,  and  Professor  Edward  T.  Devine  of  Co- 
lumbia University. 

(710) 


M'S^. 


THE  POLITICAL  SCIENCE  QUARTERLY 

^oJt27TL'ZT  '7  the  Acade.,,  is  under  the  edi- 

parat.ve  study  of  politics,  economics  and  puS; 

politics  but  d  vl  es  lieTat te^^r'  "°^^"^"'^  °^  ^"-'g" 
terest  in  the  Unted  States  O  ^""''""^  °'  P^^^"'  -" 
nonpartisan.  Eve  y  arSe  is  Sned  T"°"  '*^  ^"''"^«  '^ 
ing   those  of  the  edito  f.      "^""^  ^  .^"'^  every  article,  includ- 

of  the  writer  Each  ss';  T''"  '""'''  '^'  P"'°""^  ^'^^ 
speciahsts.and,?Machan7s  rr'?'  ''^^'^  ^^'^'^^^  ''^ 
pubhcatio;sare;h^;SrSl^,t^L^-;^^^^^^^^ 

:vt^:r:;hL^::----ecoT^^^^^^^ 

Communications  in  reference  to  articles  K...I,        • 
and    exchanges   should   be  addressed  to  thl"'""'"' 
Professor  Munroe  Smith    r  IK-     r.       "^"^S-ng  editor, 
Citv      Tnf      ,     ^****  »>mith,  Columbia  University,  New  York 
t-ity.     Intending  contributors  are  requested  to  Z, 


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